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.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012


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!
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)