Race against time to find stem cell match for grandmother

Three siblings are appealing to the Jewish community to take a simple cheek swab to see if they could be a stem cell match for their 71-year-old mother, who has been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer.

Daphne Goldberg, a grandmother of four, was diagnosed with Myeloproliferative Neoplasm in 2025. Her condition worsened in November, with doctors now giving her approximately two years to live.

Her children and brother have been tested, but no viable match has been found. With her only chance being a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor, son AJ Goldberg, and two younger sisters Chloe and Romy are in a race against time to find a match.

Speaking to Jewish News, 40-year-old father of two AJ, from Toronto, said: “We’re going out to the community at large, everywhere in the world to try and appeal to people to just swab their cheek. It’s very simple and takes a minute.”

Having undertaken “hours and hours of research” on their mother’s history and family tree, he added that the likely match will be an Ashkenazi Jew.

“Our family comes from Romania, Hungary, Austria, Lithuania and Poland. So we’re talking on a global scale, we want everybody to swab. There’s a lot of other people that need stem cells because the test applies to 88 other diseases that are all through genetics. So if you can, you might as well swab your cheek.”

“She’s everybody’s best friend,” says AJ. “She will talk to people for hours. She walks into a room and everyone knows her. She gives everybody the time of day. Every single person at the office is somebody that my mom knows intimately. She knows their whole life story. She just is one of those curious, warm people that loves to just chat.”

Local swabbing events are being organised in the UK. The Goldberg family ask volunteers aged 16-55 and in general good health, to join a potential donor registry, fill out a small questionnaire after which they will receive a free cheek-swabbing kit to complete.

“Then,” says AJ, “just send it back. It takes 20 seconds and could save a life.”

Deborah Hyde, spokesperson for blood cancer charity DKMS says: “Joining the stem cell donor register is quick and easy – just some painless mouth swabs and a few health questions. You’ll be joining a worldwide chain of hope for people like Daphne who are waiting to find a compatible donor match – for them, a stem cell transplant means a second chance at life and more time with loved ones.”

Click here to visit Daphne’s page