Wanted: marrow donor

Wanted: marrow donor

NEW YORK— She just became an honorary cultural ambassador for Barbados, and now Rihanna is advocating for another cause: a New York City leukemia patient in urgent need of a bone marrow donor.

The 20-year-old singer is working with DKMS, an international donor network based in Tubingen, Germany, to try to find a donor for Lisa Gershowitz Flynn, People magazine reported on its Web site Saturday.

Flynn is a 41-year-old mother of two young children. She was diagnosed in November with acute myelogenous leukemia, a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Doctors have told her she has four to six weeks to find a suitable donor, according to People.

Flynn said she was stunned by the singer’s efforts on her behalf.

Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, was named an honorary cultural ambassador for her native Caribbean island on Thursday. Earlier this month, she and Jay-Z won a Grammy in the rap/sung collaboration category, for her hit “Umbrella.”

Today’s birthdays

Country singer Ralph Stanley is 81. TV writer-producer Larry Gelbart is 80. Actor Tom Courtenay is 71. CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 71. Actress Diane Baker is 70. Actress Karen Grassle is 64. Movie director Neil Jordan is 58. Rock musician Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) is 51. Rock singer-musician Mike Peters (The Alarm) is 49. Actress Veronica Webb is 43. Actor Alexis Denisof is 42. Actress Tea Leoni is 42. Comedian Carrot Top is 41. Actress Lesley Boone is 40. Actor Sean Astin is 37. Singer Daniel Powter is 37. Latin singer Julio Iglesias Jr. is 35. Rhythm-and-blues singer Justin Jeffre is 35. Rock musician Richard Liles is 35. Actor Anson Mount is 35. Actress Rashida Jones is 32. Actor Justin Berfield is 22. Actors Oliver and James Phelps (“Harry Potter” movies) are 22.