EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Karina Hernandez from El Paso has been fighting for her life for the past six years, looking for a bone marrow match.

The mother of three children and current military wife stationed in San Antonio, was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called myelofibrosis, known as chronic leukemia.

“My chemo that I am currently on right now will eventually stop working and when that does, I don’t have other options and so my option would be to have a bone marrow transplant,” said Hernandez.

Doctors told Hernandez while she was pregnant with her son, that she had 10 years to find a bone marrow match. Hernandez adding that she still has hope.

Leticia Mondragon account manager at “Be the Match”, says as long as the donor is Hispanic, Hernandez has a second chance at life.

“Karina actually falls into the 70 percent match that needs to be what we call the mirror match outside of her family. Only 30 percent of them have a match in their family. When we look at the national statistics, we have Caucasian and white patients that only have a 79 percent of finding their match. It drops dramatically low for Hispanics and Latinos with only 48 percent.” said Mondragon.

“Be the Match” and the local non-profit organization “Plant a Seed” are collaborating to bring awareness for Hernandez.

“To get donors out there or possible donors. We’re going to be doing prizes, games, so we are asking everybody to come to Bassett Center from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.,” said Wendy Gamillo of Plant a Seed, providing resources and organizations for the Hispanic community.

“We are a Unique non-profit, that there’s not a specific goal or mission for example like breast cancer awareness, in what we’re doing with her friend Karina is full circle because they have been friends for years, over 10 to 15 years,” said Miguel Gamillo. “Be able to be in a position where we have a platform where we can serve, not only the community but even people close to us in our lives.”

While her husband is the one who organized everything, Hernandez’s church sisters from St. Anthony Mary Claret in San Antonio have also helped with finding someone to be a donor.

Although Hernandez has not found a match, she is looking to see if she can find her match back home in the Borderland.

To help with extra expenses, you can click on Karina’s GoFundMe here. Plus, if you want to know if you are a match for Karina, you can scan the QR code below.

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