About Kethan

Ten-year-old Kethan was first diagnosed with leukemia (ALL) in 2006 at the age of four. He beat it twice but now it’s back for a third time. His doctors say his best hope for survival is a bone marrow transplant. The problem is finding a donor match. Kethan is of South Asian descent and Asian donors only make up seven percent of the bone marrow donor database.

Because the markers used in matching are inherited, patients are more likely to match someone from their own race or ethnicity. Adding more donors from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to the database increases the likelihood that all patients will find the match they need.

Since no match has been found, Kethan’s doctors are having to move forward with an alternative treatment because of no match. Unfortunately, there are thousands of stories similar to Kethan’s. Please register as a bone marrow donor and help improve the statistics for finding a bone marrow match.

So, what happens if you are a match? Once you are registered, you are in the database until your 61st birthday and could be matched at any time. Please go to www.getswabbed.org to understand more about this process and what it entails.

Monday, July 16, 2012

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”!

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