WASHINGTON, Mo. (KMOX) - The Washington, Missouri community is rallying around one man as he seeks a lifesaving blood stem cell donor.
Shawn Mayall was diagnosed in June with an aggressive form of leukemia. Mayall is known by many as someone who is an avid volunteer for his community.
Nearly 150 people from his home area have signed up to help.
Olivia Haddox is with DKMS, a company that helps find donor matches. His family asked DKMS to coordinate help from the Washington community.
"His family and friends have been doing everything they can to add more people to the registry to see if they would be a match for (Mayall)," said Haddox to KMOX.
Haddox says once someone donates a sample, they stay on the registry until they're 60-years-old
She adds that people aren't usually called UNLESS they're found to be a potential match.
"When we swab their cheek, we're really looking at a really tiny part of their DNA and if that matches up, that means they could be a match," said Haddox.
"A lot of people assume it's about blood type, or it's like you are matching up to find an organ, but it's completely different."
Haddox says they won't know for a while if any of the potential donors who signed up will be matches for Mayall.
You can still register to possibly help Mayall.