Arizona blood cancer survivor thanks stem cell donor [Video]

BUCKEYE, Ariz. — Every three minutes in the United States, someone is diagnosed with a type of blood cancer, according to the National Foundation for Cancer Research.

Many of them hope to find a donor that will be a perfect match, no matter how long that may take. 

That includes 63-year-old Tana Velez from Arizona, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2021.  

“I have a Philadelphia marker where two chromosomes get together that aren’t supposed to be and because of that, I must have a transplant,” Velez said. “If I don’t have a transplant, I don’t survive.” 

In 2023, her wish came true when she was matched with a young man from Texas for a blood stem cell donation after countless other treatments.  

The donation saved her life. …