Progress Report [July 30]

Yesterday was the big drive in Austin, Texas! Here are the results of yesterday's drive:

• Number of donors registered yesterday: 359
• Donations accepted yesterday: $6,756
• Online donations to date: $345
• 30 online requests from Austin for kits over the weekend

Thank you to all who came and who have been spreading the word!

Bone Marrow Donor Drive This Weekend in Austin, Texas!

Sunday, July 29th, 2012
12:00 p.m.- 5 p.m.
Ronald McDonald House
1315 Barbara Jordan Blvd. (next to Dell Children's Medical Center)
Austin, Texas 78723
Free Parking

You can change the odds for patients like Kethan and so many others in need of a bone marrow transplant. All it takes is a simple cheek swab, and you can become a hero in waiting. Please join us on Sunday and bring along some friends! All ethnicities are needed and welcome! We need to BROADEN and DIVERSIFY the registry! TOGETHER WE CAN DO THIS!!

Attention Everyone in Arlington and Sugar Land, Texas

Date: Saturday, July 21st, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Place: Grace Preparatory Academy
               3300 West Interstate 20
               Arlington, TX 76017


Date: Sunday, July 22, 2012
Time: 11am to 4pm
Place: Udipi Cafe
              3551 Highway 6 S  
              Sugar Land, TX 77478

Progress Report [July 20]

Two weeks ago, there was a bone marrow drive for Cure for Kethan in Tampa, Florida. Thanks to Dr. Vijay Mehta and the donors, 95 people have been added to the bone marrow registry! With your commitment, we are saving lives.

Please take a few minutes to watch this eye-opening MSNBC story...

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/48142203#48142203

Progress Report [July 19]

Last Sunday, July 15th the Dallas/Fort Worth Hindu Temple conducted a drive where they added 75 individuals to the bone marrow registry! To top it off, they will be holding drives every Sunday for the next 3 months. Thank you, D/FW Hindu Temple for your outstanding work. A special thank you to Mahalakshmi Sivakumar for taking charge and to Mr.Chinni and Mr. Sriram Raju for their support. We truly are making progress and should keep this momentum going. Together we can build the registry!

Save the Date: Austin, TX

BECOME A LIFESAVER!

BONE MARROW DONOR DRIVE                                           

Sunday, July 29, 2012

12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Ronald McDonald House

1315 Barbara Jordan Blvd.

(next to Dell Children’s Medical Center)

Food for Thought

FACT: Blood cancers affect people of all ages, races, ethnicity, nationalities, and religions. The odds of finding a compatible bone marrow donor (for anyone) in the database have been likened to finding a needle in a haystack. Because the markers used in matching are inherited, patients are more likely to match someone from their own race or ethnicity. 

FACT: Ethnic and racial minorities (Asian, Hispanic, African-American, Native American, Pacific Islands) are severely underrepresented in the U.S.'s National Marrow Donor Program, making their odds of finding a perfect match devastatingly low. YOU CAN IMPROVE THE ODDS for children like Kethan and so many others desperate to find a life-saving compatible donor.

ACT: Kethan's family URGES you to get registered as a bone marrow donor! One day, someone in your own family or circle of friends may need a match and not find one in the donor database. Please share with everyone you know how important it is to BROADEN and DIVERSIFY the bone marrow donor registry. It benefits each and every one of us. Let’s all do our part and “get swabbed”!

Houston, we have a DRIVE!!! For Kethan!

Sunday July 22,
11am to 4pm.
At Udipi Cafe on Hwy 6, Sugar Land.

3551 Highway 6 S, Sugar Land, TX

Be there. Bring friends and family and get swabbed.
Volunteer. We need you to help Kethan win this battle.

If you are not in Houston, spread the word regardless. It will make its way to folks in Houston. Be The Match is partnering with us.

Attention Everyone in Dallas/FW Area

Here are the details for a drive this Sunday!

Date: July 15th 2012 

Time: 11:00AM - 02:00PM

Place: DFW Hindu Temple

          1605 N. Britain Road, Irving, TX 75061.

Progress Report [July 12]

Last Saturday, July 7th, Global Organization for Divinity with the help of the Hanuman Temple in Frisco were able to register 79 new donors!  Thank you to all who helped at the drive and donated. A special thanks to the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center for their support. We are on the right path to find the match for Kethan!

Kethan: News of the Day [July 12]

A Message from Madhuri Kumar:

My son Anmol and I visited with Kethan yesterday. He is doing great. Doing just what the doctor ordered- eating and exercising to get stronger for the Transplant procedure. Each day brings him closer to being ready to receive the donor Bone Marrow. 

Team Kethan, time is not on our side. Let's pick up the pace in our efforts. Get swabbed and get your friends and family swabbed. 

Saving a life gives one a joy of the greatest achievement - nothing is better!

Attention Everyone in KL and the East Bay Area

Just a reminder that there are TWO bone marrow donor registration drives coming up this week!


Kuala Lumpur Marrow Donor Registration Drive

Date: Friday, July 13th

Time: 8:30 a.m.

Place: Institute for Medical Research (IMR), next to the General Hospital of   

          Kuala Lumpur (GHKL). 

RSVP: Please email Siew Chin Duraiappah at siewchin.tan@gmail.com to 

          let her know you are coming and receive more details. 

Everyone will meet in front of the IMR building at 8:30 a.m. sharp. 

East Bay Marrow Donor Registration Drive

Date:  July 15, 2012 (DKMS, CA)

Time: 11 a.m.-6p.m.

Place: BAYVP Annual Picnic at Fremont Central Park,
Fremont, CA

Hope to see you all there!

What does being a bone marrow donor involve?

•  Registering is quick and easy!  After eligibility is determined, you will be asked to swab the inside of both cheeks with a cotton swab. The process, including some paperwork, takes 5 to 10 minutes.  Approximately 3 weeks later, your name and contact information will be placed on the National Marrow Donor Program’s registry. 
•  If you are found to be a match for Kethan (or another patient), you will be contacted and asked to come for further testing to confirm that you are match. 
•  Today, most donations (70-80%) do not require surgery but are done through Peripheral   Blood Stem Cell Donation (PBSC), a procedure similar to donating blood. In the remaining 20-30% of cases, a short painless outpatient procedure is required. For more information, please visit  http://www.dkmsamericas.org/educate. 
• YOU COULD POTENTIALLY SAVE A LIFE!

Team Kethan, we CAN change the GAME for Kethan! But in order to do so, we have to ACT and ACT NOW. Get involved in any of the various drives being organized. Sign up to get swabbed. With every registration, we improve the odds. Madhuri Kumar is organizing a drive with Puja Mishra in Houston, Texas. If you are in the Greater Houston area or have family or friends in the area, spread the word. Make the rallying call. Reach Team Kethan Houston at madhuri36@gmail.com.

Bone marrow donor drives for Kethan and others will be held in Austin, Houston and Brisbane, Australia later this month. The dates and details are still being determined, so please check this blog periodically and the "Cure for Kethan" Facebook page for the latest information! Also, there will be a drive in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia THIS Friday. Please see the post below for details.

Calling all of Kethan's friends and family in Malaysia!

There will be a marrow donor drive next week in Kuala Lumpur sponsored by Kethan's family in Malaysia. Below are the details:

Date: Friday, July 13th

Time: 8:30 a.m.

Place: Institute for Medical Research (IMR), next to the General Hospital of   

          Kuala Lumpur (GHKL). 

RSVP: Please email Siew Chin Duraiappah at siewchin.tan@gmail.com to 

          let her know you are coming and receive more details. 

Everyone will meet in front of the IMR building at 8:30 a.m. sharp. 

Kethan's friends and DKMS are planning a big bone marrow donor drive in Austin, Texas. Please stay tuned for the date and time! If you are willing and able to help plan the drive, please join us at the Kick-Off meeting on Sunday July 8th at St. Andrew's Episcopal School (Lower School), 1112 West 31st Street, Austin, TX, 78705. The meeting will be held at the Lower School Library. Please e-mail any questions to teamkethan@gmail.com. 

Here is a picture of Kethan that was taken on 5/18/12, the day he received an iPad3 from his schoolmates at St. Andrew's School. The students came together to buy Kethan a gift that he could enjoy during his extended hospital stays.

Let's work together to find this beautiful boy a bone marrow match!!