Busy Saving Lives.

I have been feeling miserable lately for a variety of reasons that I won't get into here, but I hope it helps explain my lack of posts. One thing I've pushed myself to do while in my funk, is register my bone marrow for possible donation. I've been meaning to do this for awhile now but was hoping that pushing myself to think beyond myself would buoy my spirits.

I've never donated blood. Not once. I've always been sick during drives and not liking needles much, never went out of my way to find alternatives. I decided in my mind that by committing to a bone marrow registry I could make up for all the times I've failed with the far simpler donation of blood. Bone marrow registry is non-invasive; no more finger-pricks, these days it is not much more than swabbing the insides of your mouth four times. In the event you are a match for someone in need, that's a different story. In that case, you will undergo some prep time that involves taking marrow-building supplements and the procedure itself is surgical. Sometimes it results in some lower back pain for the donor. In my mind, a small price to pay to help someone out. The donation is made anonymously.

The name that really raised my awareness on this issue is Krissy Kobata, a young, hapa Japanese American lady. What got me to actually book an appointment this time around was reading about Nick Glasgow--another hapa Japanese American, who is in a pretty dire situation now having no leads on a match. I can't help them as I don't have any caucasian blood in my mix--ethnicity plays a large role in matching people up. Halves don't always match up with other halves and mixed-race people in need are that much harder to help. Anyone can help in the big picture though--Asians or non-Asians, mixed or not.

I don't want to guilt anyone into this, but I hope that Empirical readers will at least consider getting with a registry. It's a fairly simple thing as I said. In my case, I called A3M, located in the JACCC building in Little Tokyo (Downtown Los Angeles). They host a lot of drives in the L.A. area, but also have regular office hours on weekdays. I came in the following day, filled out some forms regarding health and contact information, swabbed the corners of my mouth with their swabs and was done quickly. I hate to say it, but they seemed surprised that I showed up when I said I would--as if maybe, they get flaked on a lot. This is too serious to be flaky. If you're not committed to giving your marrow if you are called on, don't bother.

Here are some links if you'd like to know more about it

• Asians For Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M) for Los Angeles area
www.asianmarrow.org

• Asian American Donor Program based in Alameda, CA
www.aadp.org

• National Marrow Donor Program
www.marrow.org

UPDATE (June 18, 2009,830 a.m.):
From a letter from Nick Glasgow's mother via Facebook...
We learned yesterday afternoon that Stanford Cancer Center has found two donor matches for Nick out of the thirteen potential matches that had been developed by the national registry...the national registry will continue to search for other possible donors that mightmake an even better match. In any event it looks like Nick is going to get his chance at a transplant procedure which is heartening indeed for all of us.


UPDATE (July 27, 2011)
I apologize. I thought I'd posted the following update ages ago. A letter I received in 2009 via Facebook.


After six months of fighting every day, every minute, every second…Nick lost his battle to Leukemia.  Yesterday, on October 6, 2009 at approximately 3:30pm, Nick Glasgow passed away at his home.  He was surrounded by many members of his loving and supportive family.  Shortly after his passing, Nick’s family and friends gathered at his home to reminisce and celebrate Nick’s life.  Nick will definitely be missed, as all of us have a special place in our heart for him.

One thing the Leukemia did not rob was Nick’s determination, joyful spirit, and strength.  Though he was uncomfortable and in plenty of pain, Nick was still joking around with friends and family and still determined to walk to the bathroom and sit at the dinner table every evening.  He also chose to lessen his pain medications, because he preferred to have a clear head than to be pain free.  Nick truly was a fighter!

Nick’s story opened eyes all around the world.  With YouTube clips, Facebook, Twitter, and the media--Nick and his family wanted to make sure that his story was heard.  Six months ago, a doctor told Nick that he had a 0% chance of finding a bone marrow donor given his mixed ethnic make-up.  After his friends, family, http://www.facebook.com/l/bae5c;aadp.org, EMC, and various other organizations led a strong campaign to raise awareness and register minority individuals into the National Bone Marrow Registry, Nick beat the odds--four months later Nick found a generous donor (thank you!) and received a transplant.  Together, not only did we help Nick with his fight, but we helped many others that are fighting the same battle that Nick was fighting.  And we must continue this fight…

Nick was so grateful for all your love, support and prayers.  And he was so thankful for all the doctors’ efforts.  Last week, when the doctor told him that there is nothing else that they can do to help him, Nickgraciously shook the doctor’s hand and said, “thank you for giving me a chance.”

Thank you all!  Words cannot express how much we appreciate your love and support.  Please keep Nick’s spirit alive!

We love you Nick!

-Sapna


Update: Did some digging. Actually did post an excerpt from Sapna's letter here.