Kimchi Mamas

A Worthy Reminder: Save Connor

Connor is a 5-year-old boy of Korean descent who needs to find a bone marrow matching donor.

Please go to bethematch.org to find out how to register with the national bone marrow program to potentially be a lifesaver for Connor or other people.  Asian Americans are notoriously underrepresented in the registry, so it is especially important for us Kimchi families to get out there and heed the call of duty!  All it takes is to show up, get the inside of your cheek swabbed, and they'll be able to get your marrow type from there.

Even if you have been swabbed before and believe you are registered, please think about whether your contact info has changed since then and update it.  You can just go to this page and submit the approximate location and date (for example, I registered on-campus at Stanford in 1996) and they will find you and give you your donor ID as well as update your contact info.  I couldn't believe they found me, but they apparently keep some clean records!

Local Mamas, Kimchi and otherwise: Please read! Bone Marrow Drive in Palo Alto

Repost from my friend, Jill Asher, founder of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.  Please help if you can. Multi-culti donors especially needed. Spread the word!

My fellow Silicon Valley Friends! I am asking every viewer, every person living in Silicon Valley, everyone in the blogosphere....to help me spread the word about a Marrow Drive that we are co-hosting on April 19, 2008. We have pulled together corporate sponsors (THANK YOU 23ANDME), community sponsors (THANK YOU PAMP and the PAUSD) and have been mentioned in the newspapers (THANK YOU Palo Alto Weekly), as well as some highly visible sites and blogs:  THANK YOU Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Citymama, ModMom, Finding Bongamom, Filipina Moms , Pinoy Moms Network, Plain Jane Mom ... (and if I am missing anyone, just leave a comment below and I will add your site/blog name to this post!)

• Why have I organized this event?  Click Here. Yes, this is personal. 
• Why are thousands of people in need of a marrow transplant?  Click Here. 
• What happens if you are contacted as a possible match?  Click Here  Seriously, it is not as scary as it sounds....
• Can you make a difference and possibly save a life?  You bet.....

We are making an extra plea to get minority and/or multicultural communities and ethnicities out to this drive. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is in dire need of Asian, Hispanic, African American, Indian, South Asian/Pacific and American Indian donors.  With that said, ALL RACES and ethnicities are encouraged to come out to our drive! Please.... please help us spread the word.  Please show up on April 19th.  Please become a potential donor. 

There is no fee to become a donor (Thank you again 23andME.  This Silicon Valley Company is covering all expenses to get your matching into the database).  On April 19th, the National Marrow Donor Program will take a swab of saliva.  That is it.... (of course, if you were ever called as a potential match, more would be asked of you...)

Please.... support our drive.  Become a donor.  You can possibly save a life.

Respectfully,

Jill Asher, Co-Founder of Silicon Valley Moms Blog

• Date:  Saturday, April 19, 2008
• Location:  95 Crescent Drive, Palo Alto, California 94301
• Time:  9:00am to 3:30pm
• To be eligible to donate, you must be between the ages of 10 to 60

......More information about our generous, corporate sponsor: 
23andMe is a web-based service that helps you read and understand your DNA. After providing a saliva sample using an at-home kit, you can use our interactive tools to shed new light on your distant ancestors, your close family and most of all, yourself.