Ayelet Galena

Who was Ayelet Galena?

Ayelet Yakira Galena was born with a rare genetic disorder dyskeratosis congenita and was famous for the massive outpouring of support she attracted, including bone marrow drives that led to finding 60 lifesaving matches. Ayelet's fight for life was documented on her parent's blog with an unexpected sense of humor, compassion and religious identity while in the hospital. Ayelet Yakira Galena is the daughter of Seth Galena and Hindy Poupko. The Galena Poupko family is orthodox Jewish and lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Ayelet was born at NYU's Langone Medical Center two months prematurely weighing just 2 lbs 7 ounces. She spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, feeding and growing, before being released. When she was a year old, Ayelet Galena was diagnosed with dyskeratosis congenita of the HH variant. She presented with IUGR, colitis, immune deficiency, cerebellar hypoplasia, microcephaly and very short telomeres.

The Galena family partnered with Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation and DKMS Americas to set up many drives in the hopes of finding Ayelet a perfect bone marrow donor match. Her fight got the attention of many celebrities including 50 Cent, Rihanna, and Leighton Meester who tweeted for Ayelet. She underwent a Bone Marrow Transplant on August 31, 2011 with an unrelated 7/8 donor.