Woman denied a visa and a chance to donate stem cells to save her sister's life

GoFundMe

Leukemia patient Helen Huynh, center, and her famil.

A STEM CELL donor who could save the life of her sister is being prevented from entering the United States because American Embassy officials won't issue a visa to the donor.

Helen Huynh was diagnosed the most aggressive form of leukemia on Feb. 14. The best way to save her life is through stem-cell therapy, which requires a blood match between donor and recipient.

Because of the lack of donors in the Asian/American community, it was difficult to find a match. However, the family soon learned sister matched Helen Huynh blood type.

The hospital found a 100% match for Helen — her sister, Thuy, who lives in Vietnam. 

“We were very happy. My mom was ecstatic," said Sharon Adams, one of Helen's daughters, told ABC. "The doctors were very happy because it’s very hard to find a match, and especially a 100 percent match.”

That joy didn't last long.have been rejected by American embassy staff. The reason given for the denials was that the officials didn't believe that Thuy would return to Vietnam even though Thuy is leaving behind money, property and her 5-year-old child.

The Huynh family fled Vietnam because the father of the family fought alongside the U.S. Army. In 1991, they were able to immigrate to the U.S. Five years later, they became U.S. citizens.

The Huynh family set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for application fees and medical expenses.

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