URGENT: Please help save my cousin's life

[armstrong]

My cousin Christine in the US is battling cancer, and urgently needs to find a bone marrow donor. Unfortunately, finding a perfect match for her bone marrow type is particularly difficult. This is hard enough for the average person; there are over 20,000 types of bone marrow, so the average person has a 1 in 20,000 chance of finding a match. These numbers are even worse for Christine. Because she is Filipino, she needs to find a donor of the same ethnic background, and there are hardly any Filipinos on the US National Registry.

Right now is our best chance of having the Bone Marrow Transplant work. Each day's delay decreases her chances of surviving. Please contact your Filipino friends or relatives in the US, and ask them to contact their friends. Anyone you know who is all or part Filipino and between the ages of 18 and 61 is a potential donor. The system is nationwide, so it doesn't matter where they live. Signing up on the registry is easy and painless. All it requires is a simple blood test. Some hospitals charge a small fee for this blood test, however the fee is routinely waived for minorities, and often for Caucasians as well, especially if you are willing to donate a pint of blood.

You can find a registration center by selecting your state on the map on this website. These centers can refer you to bone marrow drives in your community.

http://www.marrow.org/cgi-bin/NETWORK/map.pl?ctr_typ=DC

There is also a wonderful organization in Los Angeles that arranges free registration for Filipino donors.

www.asianmarrow.org

If you have trouble finding a site in your area, have any trouble finding a place to donate for free, or have additional questions, you can reach Christine's boyfriend Jacob at this email address:

info [at] christine.site.ph

You can reassure your friends that signing up for the registry does not require donating any bone marrow. If it turns out they are a match, they will be contacted, and can make the decision at that point about becoming a donor.

There are lots of misconceptions about donating bone marrow. The procedure is considered minor, simple and safe. You will be anesthetized the whole time, so you will not feel anything. When the procedure is over, you may have some soreness in the area for a day or two and you may feel a little tired. That's it. The bone marrowyou donate is replenished within 3-4 weeks. And again, you will only undergo this procedure if your blood sample shows that you are a match and you decide to donate, in which case the slight soreness you'll be feeling will be saving someone's life.

All medical expenses for the donor will be covered by Christine's insurance.

You can find out more about the registry and the donation procedure at this website:

www.marrow.org

Thank you!

Apollo a.k.a. "armstrong" :hearts:

 

[vivsin]

what a tremendous support , i have just become fan of NPers
May god Help her and everyone on this planet
Best wishes - PD

 

[johnn]

Try to spread the words out to see if anyone here live in Hawaii (The largest Filipino population in the U.S.)

Check with Harpo - I believe he lives in Hawaii.
Good luck & best wishes!

John

 

[misscalais]

all the best - all I could do is post a message of help on your behalf on the ebay discussion boards at the phillipines .

http://forums.ebay.ph/thread.jspa?threadID=600000161&tstart=0&mod=1141215833920

if ppl can come there and bump it up to ensure everyone gets to see it - it would be appreciated .

all the best

 

[WebForging]

Best wishes and our prayers...

Posted your info with a link to this thread:

http://www.thebubbler.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1858

http://www.webloggers.org/showthread.php?t=1252

http://scouts.com/forums/scouts-cam...459-filipino-bone-marrow-donor-us-needed.html

Best wishes and prayers to your cousin and your family and you.

Regards,
Keith

 

[Sabre]

all the best - all I could do is post a message of help on your behalf on the ebay discussion boards at the phillipines .

http://forums.ebay.ph/thread.jspa?threadID=600000161&tstart=0&mod=1141215833920

if ppl can come there and bump it up to ensure everyone gets to see it - it would be appreciated .

all the best

andreitt (6 ) View Listings 03-03-06 07:38 MYT 1 of 1
I'm willing to test for compatibility. Where do I go? I'm in Manila though.

You could have a possible match there?

I would answer it but I'm not sure of the question!

 

[stscac]

all the best - all I could do is post a message of help on your behalf on the ebay discussion boards at the phillipines .

http://forums.ebay.ph/thread.jspa?threadID=600000161&tstart=0&mod=1141215833920

if ppl can come there and bump it up to ensure everyone gets to see it - it would be appreciated .

all the best

andreitt (6 ) View Listings 03-03-06 07:38 MYT 1 of 1
I'm willing to test for compatibility. Where do I go? I'm in Manila though.

You could have a possible match there?

I would answer it but I'm not sure of the question!

I thought that the donors had to be in the United States?

-Steve

 

[misscalais]

I thought that the donors had to be in the United States?

-Steve

Towards the bottom of the post I asked if they had relatives in the US.

 

[armstrong]

Thanks again, everyone!

The test is free in the US, but costs about $200 in the Philippines. Since we need several thousand testers before we get good statistical odds of a match, there's no way we can afford to test so many in the Philippines. So we are targetting US-based Filipino groups. If you have contacts with such communities, please please please relay this message to them. The clock is ticking.

 

[norbx]

i don't normally get choaked with stuff but this put a lump in my throat. i shortly will be donating once i buy some decent amount of np$'s

 

[Kenny]

I just viewed your link to ebay. What a brilliant idea!!! Already there are two people saying they will help. This idea needs to be looked at closer.
Good Job!!!!

all the best - all I could do is post a message of help on your behalf on the ebay discussion boards at the phillipines .

http://forums.ebay.ph/thread.jspa?threadID=600000161&tstart=0&mod=1141215833920

if ppl can come there and bump it up to ensure everyone gets to see it - it would be appreciated .

all the best

 

[swimjenni]

What other places are like ebay with Phillipines active at them? If anyone knows, please post on here or at that place!

I just viewed your link to ebay. What a brilliant idea!!! Already there are two people saying they will help. This idea needs to be looked at closer.
Good Job!!!!

 

[armstrong]

A message from Christine (emphasis mine):

Hi guys,

I know all of you have been working hard and long hours. All the hard work is truly making a difference. I got an e-mail from my father the other day. A source told him that we have signed up more Filipinos in the last two months than the NMDP has signed up in the last five years. It's amazing.

I spoke to Yung Chavez last night, a reporter who interviewed me last weekend. My story will be aired in a FEATURED news segment on Sunday March 12 at 6:30 pacific/ 9:30 eastern on The Filipino Channel - ABS/CBN "Balita America". This show airs all over North America, Europe and Asia. She said that she will have the graphic www.savechristine.com displayed on the screen.

Chavez is also writing an article in the The Phlippine News. I know I have been written abou in other Filipino papers but this is the BIG one. It is the only nationwide Filipino-American paper. I guess you could equate it with the Filipino New York Times with the circulation of USA Today. She also intends to print savechristine.com prominently in the article. The story comes out Wednesday, March 15.

I'm sharing all of this to let you guys know that there will be ALOT of people going to the website next week. Get ready...

hugs hugs hugs,
Christine

Good job everyone! At this rate, I just know a match will be found very soon. :tu:

P.S. NMDP = National Marrow Donor Program

 

[Shorty]

Wow I remember reading this thread as it started ages ago, armstrong you deserve some kind of medal. I'm sure I said it before, but good luck on your quest.

 

[iqbal]

This is so bad.
As far as i know bone marrow transplant can only be done by near relatives.
I hope someone's bone marrow will match with ur causin's.

 

[firestorm]

Sorry to hear about this, I will spread the word and keep her in my prayers. God Bless and good luck, things will turn out ok.

 

[kev]

I really empathise with you mate.

my wee sister was only 3 when she had leukaemia (blood cancer) and needed bone marrow aswell. I hope you find a donor soon and i think you are destined to find someone!!

 

[Kimo]

bump for a good cause!

 

[MissFlora]

I don't know how I can help out in this situation but you can also try posting ads in sites like adpost.com. As I live in Canada, and only know Chinese in US, I don't know much about the filipino community in US. But I will try and tell this to my friends in US, maybe they know some filipino friends who can help out. All the best.

Flora.

 

[etraffic]

WOW..I dont know of anyone who would work, but I will keep your cousin in my prayers...

 

[Kenny]

I don't know how I can help out in this situation but you can also try posting ads in sites like adpost.com. As I live in Canada, and only know Chinese in US, I don't know much about the filipino community in US. But I will try and tell this to my friends in US, maybe they know some filipino friends who can help out. All the best.

Flora.

Hello Miss Flora, Chinese are not the only asians that could be compatable and it occurs to me now B.C. has a large asian population I had forgotten about. (Sorry my Canook friends) Perhaps you know people in B.C. who might reach into that community. And obviously any B.C. members please investigate this possible resource.

Peace,
Cyberian

 

[armstrong]

I'm being asked to place a 55MB video (about Christine, of course) on the website. It would be awesome if it can be embedded and played directly on the homepage. Anyone know how to do this?

 

[Iravan]

Perhaps somethign like this

http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?item=Flash_Video_Player

Hope It Helps

- Iravan

 

[-db-]

I want to offer a $500 cash reward to the person who donates and matches, or the person who finds a match for Christine. There is no expiration date on this offer, and I encourage you all to do everything you can to locate donors and find a possible match.

Everybody who donates is doing a good thing, regardless of whether they are a match.

This is not about money, but sometimes in today's world, it speaks louder than anything else. So get out there and find somebody!

 

[armstrong]

db, thanks for the kind thought. Know that its truly appreciated.

However, it turns out that such rewards are considered medically unethical, and more importantly illegal in the US. It is for this reason that all other rewards previously offered were withdrawn.

However, it is legal to offer incentives for actual work done (posting on blogs, forums, etc.). In fact, we have over 20,000NP$ sitting in Christine's account to cover such work. The problem with this is that few like getting paid for such work, preferring instead to volunteer their free time, and few people have truly free time.

If anyone wants to be paid for such work, please PM member "~ Cyberian ~". Don't be shy. There's NP$ earmarked for this. Your work will potentially save a life, and no one has to know that you were paid for it. In fact, there's nothing wrong with getting paid for this kind of work. Other people working to save Christine are getting paid - medical staff, phone operators, drive coordinators, NMDP staff, etc - so there's no shame in getting paid for your time.

Perhaps somethign like this

http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?item=Flash_Video_Player

Hope It Helps

- Iravan

Thanks, Iravan. :great: I'll try this solution.

 

[-db-]

db, thanks for the kind thought. Know that its truly appreciated.

However, it turns out that such rewards are considered medically unethical, and more importantly illegal in the US. It is for this reason that all other rewards previously offered were withdrawn.

I did not realize this.

I withdraw the offer, and apologize for my ignorance on the topic.



I will continue to campaign by word-of-mouth.