Editor’s Corner
shouts and mumblings :
Cinder, a New Dating App From ASH!*
I
N PREPARATION FOR VALENTINE’S DAY, ASH Clinical News has
been trolling for ways to promote that most elusive of emotions –
love – while providing an important public service for the small-
est constituents of ASH’s membership: blood and bone marrow
components.
Introducing ASH’s Cinder. More than just a dating app,
Cinder is a hematologic movement! Swipe right if you like a
component or left to move on to the next. Below are sample
profiles of participants who are looking for friendship (and so
much more …).
T Lymphocyte
I’ve been told that my love can be infectious. Photos of me
from previous partners have even gone viral. I find vaccines
stimulating, but alkylating agents are a total buzzkill.
Whatever happens between us, I will always remember you.
PETs okay.
Pluripotent Stem Cell
Primitive, perhaps, but I can see our relationship evolving
and maturing.
Macrophage
I’d like to wrap my arms around you and consume you
with my love! Am I sending the right signals? You’re my
cyto-kind of guy!
Platelet
Okay, I’m not really a cell, but should the lack of a
nucleus come between us? Into group activities, like
forming a thrombus, and travel to exotic places like the
lung vasculature. I’ll stop the bleed and meld with you.
Natural Killer Cell
Yo, NK here, I don’t need no
antibodies or MHC to react to
your love! But don’t let my name
scare you off; I’ll adapt to your
needs, because my tenderness is
innate!
Red Blood Cell
Interested in a short-term, 2- to
3-month relationship in which
I can be the universal donor of
affection. Too little of me, you’ll
start panting for more. I can
always find a way to B positive.
Baby, I’ve got my erythro-cytes
set on you!
Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, MS,
is director of the Leukemia
Program at the Cleveland Clinic
in Cleveland, OH.
Mast Cell
Flushed? Feel warm all over? Heart racing? Light-headed? Loving
me can be a total release.
Factor VIII
Descendant of royalty. Have a bit of a complex with factor IX.
Recombinants are no substitution for the real deal – you can’t
replace me.
Factor IX
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Complement
You are so good looking! I love what you did
with your hair! With a name like mine, I’m sure
to complete you. It’s true that when I get acti-
vated with my friends, we get a little crazy and
have a tendency to break things, but I’m selective
about that – LOL! Into classical and alternative
pathways.
Bone Marrow Stroma
Come over to my crib, and I’ll create a mood that
is stimulating and supportive for you to grow as an
individual. Microenvironmentally conscious.
Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS
Editor-in-Chief
The content of the Editor’s Corner is
the opinion of the author and does
not represent the official position of
the American Society of Hematology
unless so stated.
*ASH’s real apps – the Pocket Guides, Practice Guidelines, and Annual Meeting app – are solely
intended to match inquisitive minds to outstanding education and research in hematology. With
thanks to David P. Steensma, MD, for critical review of the manuscript and imprimatur for having a
modicum of humor and biologic accuracy, and to Marc J. Kahn, MD, for naming the app.
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