The lives of a Filipino teen and man depend on finding a stem cell donor match. They both each have two rare blood diseases.

A stem cell drive hopes to diversify the registered donor pool for two Filipino people - one is a teenager, Rosalind Mance, of Calgary. The other person is Martin Lintag of Richmond. Currently, the registered donor pool only has 26 percent with an Asian background and only one percent, Filipino.

The stem cell drive will take place at the Croatian Cultural Centre auditorium Feb. 2 and 3 from noon to 6 pm each day.

Mance had no matches from her immediate family members. The only cure for her two rare diseases is a stem cell transplant. Also, the cost of treatment is expensive.

The treatment for Aplastic Anemia is called Immunosuppressive Therapy (IST). The treatment which costs $54,000 each month. Rosalind's team of doctors applied for funding to the government for eligible drug therapy. No other funding options are available through the public or private system. The funding was not approved.

When Mance was 16, she was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition - her blood cell and platelet count was very low. After she was admitted to Alberta Children’s Hospital she was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia - a rare and serious disease in which the bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells. This condition causes fatigue and tiredness, bleeding and bruising and increases the risk of infections.

A week later she was diagnosed with Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), which is another very rare, chronic and life-threatening disease of the bone marrow that affects the blood and major organs. PHN could lead to leukemia, thrombosis, and strokes.

For more information, visit www.match4roshlind.com