Desperately needed: Marrow/Peripheral Blood Stem Cell donors

[mamalam]

Hi,

I am an avid windsurfer. I often sail in the Bay and Waddell.

I'm writing this in search of help for my younger sister, Viet Lam.

Viet's life has been one filled with amazing wonders and many journeys made possible exclusively by the kindness and generosity of strangers. She survived Communist Vietnam without parental guidance, and defected from her native land as a "boat person" at the age of 11. After years of trials and tribulations, living in Southeast Asian refugee camps and residing in foster homes in Michigan, Viet successfully graduated from college then medical school. She went into internal medicine to fulfill her dream to give back to her community and to service her fellow citizens during their time of need.

Only three years after her medical training was completed, Viet's medical practice was unexpectedly interrupted when she was diagnosed with widespread lymphoma. Under the great care of her doctors and their teams, Viet was successfully treated and was in remission for 14 months but then relapsed in 2009. Her condition has progressively worsened and her only option for treatment is a bone marrow/peripheral blood stem cell transplant. Currently, there is no match available.

This journey has proven to be her toughest. Once again, she will rely on the kindness of strangers for a second chance in life. She is a vibrant, kind, dignified, and caring person.

There is a tremendous need for individuals willing to be bone marrow/peripheral blood stem cell donors, particularly those of minority and mixed ethnicity such as Asian, South Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander. If you are healthy, please consider becoming a donor.

"Patients are most likely to match someone who shares their racial and ethnic background. Today, all Asian groups combined reflect only seven percent of the registry as a whole" and those of Vietnamese ethnicity comprises the least. Viet is 3/4 Vietnamese and 1/4 Chinese.

The probability of matching an unrelated donor is one in a million. Viet is fully aware that her chance to find a match is slim. However, she still wishes to increase awareness of this tremendous need, increase national registry donors, and potentially increase the probability of finding a match for many others who share her predicament.

An online drive is available with Viet's code as Viet2010 http://join.bethematch.org/viet2010

We are currently working on organizing drives for Viet and other patients needing bone marrow/peripheral blood stem cell transplants. Please help us spread the word and let us know if you have ideas, social contacts or avenues which could improve our chances of successful drives.

For those people of childbearing age, there is a cord blood donation program in the national registry as well.

Thank you very much for your time, consideration, and kindness.

To keep you up to date on Viet, I created a CaringBridge website. You can follow Viet’s progress and show your support.
Visit Viet’s website in two easy ways:

1. Visit the CaringBridge website by clicking the link below.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/vietlam

2. Enter the website name, vietlam, at www.CaringBridge.org.

[biffmalibu]

I am wracking (sp?) my brain for an effective strategy. I wonder what sort of database Chinese authorties might have? They MAY have a very good central database; they certainly have the numbers for one. They may not be participants in the largest registry available outside China. I think it's worth a try. Otherwise, of course, try NIH for some info or other strategies.

The Chinese would possibly benefit from the publicity and could also attract research and development dollars as a consequence.

Don't be afraid to make a couple phone calls or send emails to upper level executives! If they don't know or don't have, they can at least direct you to someone who can help you best.

Good luck!

Biff

P.S. Your headline is accurate but might "smell" like B.S. to some (it did to me, but I clicked anyway because I was curious and was about to . Maybe try this or something similar so that more people open your email: "Matching bone marrow donor(s) sought for mixed Vietnamese/Chinese patient."

[mamalam]

Hi Biff,

Thank you for your input.

Thing about bone marrow transplant (or any transplant) is that some viral/parasitic infection which might be trivial to a "healthy" person can be life threatening to immunosuppressed patients.

China and Vietnam have numbers, but they also have a lot of cases of undiagnosed hepatitis, parasitic infections, etc. We must be very strict with our screening to provide the best chance for the patients and donors. Perhaps with time, we might be able to work with those countries.

[mamalam]

Hi Tradewinds,

Thank you for sharing your experiences working with my sister. I'm so pleased to hear about your positive experiences. Over the years, she's taught me over and over again about courage, humility, kindness, and fairness.

I can't agree with you more... she has just one of the most beautiful smiles out there. Her sense of humor is incredible too.

She's still waiting for a donor. She's fighting hard and she makes each day her best.

There have been several successful drives. Our efforts will help someone, somewhere, sometimes. We hope more people will learn about this need and register.