Bone Marrow Donor Drives Saturday and Sunday for Jack Chin

In July 2011, Jack Chin was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia about six months ago. Today, he desperately needs a bone marrow transplant in order to survive.

WHO IS JACK? is a UCLA student (2007-2011) and Monta Vista High School alum (Class of 2007).

The facts:

-His family's bone marrow, including his twin brother's, was not a match

-He is 23 years old, and had no family history of leukemia. This came out of nowhere. It could have been any of us.

It’s difficult to watch a loved one with a long-term illness linger, when with more resources their pain might be eliminated and they might have a new lease on life. Those who are not Caucasian are more likely to die of leukemia or of other blood cancers. This is because there is a shortage of multi-ethnic donors on the national Registry.

“We need everyone of Asian, multi-ethnic and ethnic minority ancestry to step forward and join the marrow registry,” says Carol Gillespie, executive director of the Asian American Donor Program (http://www.aadp.org). “There is a shortage of non-Caucasians on the Be The Match® national registry. This means that patients have to wait longer than is ideal to find a match.” AADP staff continues to provide education about the need and how relatively easy it is to register and to donate if needed. If you are found to be a match, the donation procedure will either be marrow collection or Peripheral Blood Stem Cell collection (PBSC).

Donors must be in good general health and between the ages of 18 and 60. A tissue sample from the inside of your cheek is collected on Q-Tip like swabs for HLA testing. Each participant is asked to give their consent to have their tissue type listed on the Be The Match Registry, which searches for patients in need.

How You Can Help

Go to one of the upcoming drives and do a cheek swab to join the “Be the Match” national registry

March 24, 2012, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Vallco Shopping Mall (near cafeteria.)

March 25, 2012, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Cupertino Library. 

For more information, visit Asian American Donor Program www.aadp.org or call 510-568-3700.

—Submitted by Ruby Law, Asian American Donor Program