Cancerwise

Until he tried to donate stem cells for his late brother, Norman, Jerry Brouwer didn’t realize he carried a genetic mutation that made him more likely to develop leukemia.

But testing revealed he had DDX41 — the same mutation that had caused Norman’s illness. That meant Jerry couldn’t provide the stem cells needed to save his brother’s life. And, since Jerry was 63 at the time, it also meant he was at high risk for developing the...

Think you’re too old to donate blood? Or that you can’t do it because you have tattoos or just got back from travelling abroad?

You may have heard that if you meet one of these criteria, you’re prohibited from donating blood — but that’s not necessarily the case.

To separate fact from fiction, we went to transfusion specialist Joanne Becker, M.D. Here, she debunks those and one other blood donation myth she often hears at...