[06-22-2006]Filipino? Know any Filipinos? Please Read.

[n3bulous]

I'm watching this on ABC Nightline right now. Christine Pechara is a Filipina-American chick (full Filipina that grew up here, I assume) with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (?). She needs a bone marrow transplant. There are over 20,000 (?) different types of bone marrow types, and she cannot find a match. According to the broadcast, her best chance is to search for people in her own ethnicity, Filipino. Problem is, apparently only 0.5% of the people in the "bone marrow registry"(?) are Filipino.

The site has a link to a free self test kit. I don't know what the test involves.

http://christine.site.ph/

Spread it around to all the Filipinos you know. Maybe someone will take the test and match. Watching the broadcast, apparently these types of bone marrow searches are rarely successful, and her desperation was readily apparent in her interview.

Thanks for reading.

[DragonKnight]

I signed up. Karma for the post.

[n3bulous]

I just got my kit today. Haven't found time to read through the instructions yet.

Here's the Nightline broadcast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NT52JmhJpU

[Anaestacia]

Okay. I don't know how much help my marrow would be, genetic background is very muddled. I signed up. Thanks for posting this.

[Azn Retribution]

damn. I'm late.
well I'll sign up anyway.
props.

[SunWuKong]

Okay. I don't know how much help my marrow would be, genetic background is very muddled. I signed up. Thanks for posting this.

available marrow for mixed-race people is especially rare, so you're definitely doing a good thing.

http://www.mavinfoundation.org/projects/matchmaker.html

[Anaestacia]

Yes, I signed up with my mother's cousin's US address (she knows) and they're all mixed anyway. But I can't get a free testing kit here for myself north of the border. So am looking into it.

What I don't understand with the Mavin site is that I'm not sure how my blood, if I'm not half/half, or even 1/4 full of anything - how would that benefit mixed people who are a bit more straightforward? Is my bone marrow ruined/useless or is it so mixed it's applicable anywhere?

[SunWuKong]

Yes, I signed up with my mother's cousin's US address (she knows) and they're all mixed anyway. But I can't get a free testing kit here for myself north of the border. So am looking into it.

What I don't understand with the Mavin site is that I'm not sure how my blood, if I'm not half/half, or even 1/4 full of anything - how would that benefit mixed people who are a bit more straightforward? Is my bone marrow ruined/useless or is it so mixed it's applicable anywhere?

i really have no idea how bone marrow matching works, medically, or how close of a match it is necessary for someone to be able to use it. but i'm taking a guess that whoever could use your bone marrow would be close to your genetic makeup.