|
 
|
Stem Cell Drive @ Canadian Martyrs Catholic Church in Richmond
The stem cell drive will be held at Canadian Martyrs Catholic Church in Richmond from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. for parishioners and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for the public.
For more information about Carolyn, go to savecarolyn.com.
To register on the bone marrow registry go to onematch.ca.
Stem cells needed
Rally aims to get ethnic minorities added to registry
KRISTEN THOMPSON, METRO VANCOUVER
July 10, 2008 02:31
The Vancouver friends and family of a Toronto woman battling leukemia hope a stem cell drive, being held on Sunday, will help find the rare and much-needed match their ailing friend requires.
Carolyn Tam, 37, has been battling leukemia since 2006, and is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant.
The problem, said childhood friend Susana Junk, who lives in Vancouver, is that Tam needs a donor of Chinese descent, which is difficult because ethnic minorities are underrepresented in the donor registry.
Junk said while Caucasians have a 70-85 per cent chance of finding a match, the likelihood drops to five per cent for Chinese patients because so few Chinese are registered as donors.
“Asians are not really too aware of the stem cell donating process,” said Junk. “It’s simple. Register not just for Carolyn, but for other people in her situation.”
Sunday’s drive will provide on-site testing and the opportunity for people to sign others up for the bone marrow registry.
A previous drive held in Vancouver on June 14 tested 820 people. On the same day in Ontario, 1,500 showed up at four drives.
“Mentally, (Carolyn) is very positive,” said Junk. “Her spirit is still very high.” |
|
發表於 2008-7-10 09:55
| 