The brother of a Jewish man in Australia that is suffering from a rare blood cancer has appealed to the global Jewish community for help.

The appeal reads:

“URGENT - PLEASE HELP US!

My brother Murray Foltyn (aged 41), married to Claudia (nee Milunsky), has a rare blood cancer and requires an urgent blood stem cell transplant to help save his life. They have a 3-year-old son and a 9 month old baby girl.

We are reaching out to you and the power of our community for help in finding a match so that the transplant can proceed. Time is of the essence. Giving stem cells is a non-invasive process - similar to giving blood.

Previous searches on the worldwide bone marrow database have been unsuccessful and our best chance of a cure is a match with a person of Jewish Ashkenazi background.

Bonus if your family is from Illford, England, or the villages of Halmesh or Jablonec just outside of Trnava (today part of Slovakia) or Morava Ostrava (today close to the border of Poland).

Here's how to help:If you fit the heritage criteria, please check your country's age limit and the testing process below. Most countries are an easy mouth swab kit at home!

Australia: https://www.lifeblood.com.au/ If you're having trouble booking in please contact JosSmith@redcrossblood.org.au - our 'Match for Murray' Team account manager.

United States: https://my.bethematch.org/s/join (18-40yo) - cheek swab

United Kingdom: https://www.dkms.org.uk/get-involved/become-a-donor (18-55) - cheek swab

Israel: https://www.ami.org.il/ (18-45) - cheek swab

South Africa: https://sabmr.co.za/ (16-45) - cheek swab

Slovakia: https://swabtheworld.com/en/country/slovak-republic (18-45)

Russia: https://swabtheworld.com/en/country/russia (18-45)

Canada: https://www.blood.ca/en/stemcells/donating-stemcells/stemcell-eligibility-and-registration (17-35)

NZ: https://www.bonemarrow.org.nz/#join-now (18-35)

Czechia: https://www.darujzivot.cz/how-to-register (18-40)

Other:  https://swabtheworld.com/en/become-a-donor

A match overseas is as good as a match in Australia, as a donor's stem cells can easily be sent to Australia once they’re on the worldwide register.

So - let’s keep spreading the word worldwide! And - while the specific geographical criteria is important to increase chances, the general Jewish population is just as important to test.You could be the match we need to save a life.

Thank you so much on behalf of the Foltyn and Milunsky families.”

The Australian Red Cross Lifeblood programme: https://www.lifeblood.com.au/