This is Janet Liang. She has been fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia since August 2009. Her doctors told her she needs to find a bone marrow donor by April.
Liang is Chinese-America. Currently, only 25% of the people registered in the National Bone Marrow Registry are racial minorities. Watch her heartbreaking video and please, please, please sign up for the Be The Match Registry. Sign up online and they’ll send you a kit in the mail. All you need to do is send them a cheek swab.
Here’s some information about donating. Basically, they remove some bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells with a needle. Your body will grow back whatever they take, and most people can expect a full recovery from the outpatient procedure in 2-3 weeks.
I’ve been a member of the registry since 2005 and I’ve never been matched as a donor. So don’t worry—it’s not like you sign up and you’ll be in the hospital the next day. You can always update your membership with them and/or ask to be removed from the registry if you change your mind. But imagine being able to save someone’s life with the stuff your body grows naturally. It’s an incredible gift to give. My friend Kevin is alive today because of a stranger who donated marrow. Janet is a friend of a friend from college, and she’s hoping social media can save her life.
Please consider signing up, especially if you’re a POC. And please reblog this to help find a match for Janet and thousands of other people waiting for a miracle.
-Jess
Signal boost!
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