Written by Lisa Lee
Friday, 30 May 2008
On any given day, 6,000 people are looking for a life-saving bone marrow donor. Only 3% of all Asian Americans are currently registered. Help us change that statistic today!
Meet Michelle Maykin.
She is a 26-year old acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient who is battling life-threatening odds of finding a bone marrow donor match by June 21st. In light of Michelle’s diagnosis, Michelle’s family and friends have banned together to launch a nationwide recruitment campaign, Project Michelle, to raise awareness of the dire donor shortage specifically within the Asian American community. The goal is to enroll 15,000 donors into the national registry in hopes of finding acute myeloid leukemia patient Michelle Maykin a bone marrow match and improve the odds for patients like her. Only 3% of all Asian Americans are registered as bone marrow donors.
Hyphen magazine and Chinese for Affirmative Action have collaborated with Project Michelle and the Asian American Donor Program to bring a bone marrow drive to the heart of the Bay Area to increase the registration numbers of Asian Americans.
Please help us reach out to the 97% unregistered (roughly 14 million) to let them know how they can save Michelle or one of the other 6,000 patients currently looking for a match. Help save a life and get registered.
WHAT: In-n-Out: The Drive to Increase Asian American Registered Bone Marrow Donors
WHEN: Saturday | June 14, 2008 | 10 am – 3 pm
WHERE: Chinese for Affirmative Action, Community Room
The Kuo Building
17 Walter U. Lum Place
San Francisco, CA 94108
COST: Free for all partial and full ethnic minorities (Asian and Pacific Islander, Native American, Hispanic/Chicano, and African American) and $25 registration fee for all non-minorities.
To RSVP and to show your support, please visit our Facebook Event and/or our Evite.
THANK YOU to our Community Partners for this event:
South Bay First Thursdays
Angry Asian Man
Asian American Cancer Support Network
South Asian Marrow Association of Recruiters
Kearny Street Workshop
Asian Pacific Islander Nonprofits of Los Angeles