Archive for June 17, 2008

michelle

June 17, 2008 by j.

Oops, it’s nearly been an entire month since my last post. So I’ve dropped off the face of the jeannita-earth over the last few weeks because all of my waking hours have been completely consumed with Project Michelle. I am heading up the DC regional efforts in getting as many Asian-Americans registered in the marrow donor registry as possible, in order to save sweet Michelle. Response has been great, and the support has been overwhelming - I’m truly awed over and over again at just how big people’s hearts can be.

Here is an excerpt from the event notices I have been sending out for marrow drives that I organize:

Michelle Maykin is a 26-year old Vietnamese/Chinese-American woman living in the Bay Area. Diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (cancer of the blood) in February 2007, Michelle underwent chemotherapy for seven months and battled the cancer into remission… but recently relapsed a few weeks ago and now desperately needs to find a bone marrow match in order to save her life.

While her donor may not necessarily be of Asian descent, her highest chance for a match lies within the APA community. Did you know that only 3% of all Asian-Americans are registered in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)? Consider this: a recent NMDP report estimates that Caucasian patients searching the donor registry have an 80% chance of finding a match, but for people of minority race, more importantly those of South Asian descent, the chance of finding a match drops to as low as 20%. The Worldwide Bone Marrow Registry indicates that fewer than 0.1% of the ethnically South Asian population is registered. In this country alone, there are over 14 million APA individuals in the country that likely do not even know that they have the ability to save a life. The miniscule number of Asian-American donors makes Michelle’s search for a donor match a very very desperate one…. we need as MANY Asian-Americans as possible to step up and become registered donors.. for Michelle, and for the thousands of people like her.

The first step in becoming a hero requires a cheek swab and ten minutes of your time. If you are a match, the transplant can often be done entirely through the blood. We need to find a match for Michelle by JUNE 21. The outcome is simple — someone lives because of your donation. You could be the one to save Michelle. Will you?

If you’re of Asian descent (or even if you’re not) and reading this, please visit Project Michelle or National Marrow Donor Program and take a minute to read what’s there.

Michelle darling… you are my hero and my inspiration. Mad love from DC.

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