I'm sorry to do this here. I posted this at DV too but this little girl's story need to be told. And if you can help, pls do. Visit your local blood bank. Thanks for reading.
[FONT face=verdana size=2]Three-year-old needs bone marrow [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]By Simone Blais - Staff Reporter [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]Family and friends of a three-year-old Vancouver girl are asking the Asian-Canadian community in the Tri-Cities for help. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]Kelly Voros, the administrator for BCIT's electrical and computer engineering technology program, is sending out flyers and invitations to everyone on campus to contact Canadian Blood Services for screening. Her co-worker's daughter, Makoda Suen, is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"The reason why we're looking to the Tri-Cities is that we know there's a big Asian population there," Voros said. "Makoda was adopted from China, and that's why her parents aren't a match to donate marrow. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"That's why it's also more difficult for them to find a match." [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]Makoda, who just turned three, was diagnosed last year with an aggressive form of leukemia. She was successfully treated at B.C. Children's Hospital and went into remission six months later. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"They've been battling with this for a while," Voros said of her co-worker and the family. "She was in remission, but this week, (the cancer) hit again. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"Apparently, with this kind of leukemia, when it hits the second time, then the person has to have a bone marrow transplant." [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]Voros said BCIT staff found out on Monday that Makoda had taken a turn for the worse, and Thursday learned that the little girl's condition deteriorated to the point where she was admitted to Children's Hospital on Thursday for five days of intensive chemotherapy treatment. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]She said the family is devastated about the news - as are BCIT staff. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"Because (the mom) is our co-worker, we all watched the process when they were adopting that little girl and what a joy that was when Makoda came here. And then, within a year for her to be stricken with leukemia, it was so devastating to the family," Voros said. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"We were all waiting to see what we could do, and now that it's at this crisis point, we've started a flyer campaign." [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]Voros said she's printed 3,000 flyers about Makoda's plight and the family search for a bone marrow donor. The flyers have been posted throughout the college campus and distributed directly to staff and students. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"People are just touched, especially the young students. The young people didn't even realize that this is something that they can do. They always say, 'You can give people marrow?'" she said. "You can see it in their face that they want the flyers and want to help." [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]While doctors haven't been able to give the family an idea of how long Makoda has and they remain hopeful that chemotherapy will lengthen that window, Voros urged everyone with Asian ancestry to contact Canadian Blood Services to be tested to see whether or not their marrow could help Makoda survive. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"If potential donors go on to the website, all the forms are on there. You used to have to go to a workshop, but now you can do that all online," she said. "I think you just go in for a blood test. [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]"The procedure itself is quite a simple thing to do, but has a huge impact - that's Makoda's life. If we can find the right person, that will save her life." [/FONT]
[FONT face=verdana size=2]ù For screening information, visit the Canadian Blood Services' website at www.bloodservices.ca and click on the link for "Bone Marrow Donor Registry," or call 1-888-2-DONATE. [/FONT]
[FONT face=Verdana size=2]Source: [A href="vny!://www.thenownews.com/issues06/034206/community/034206co1.html"]vny!://www.thenownews.com/issues06/034206/community/034206co1.html[/A][/FONT]
[FONT face=Verdana size=2]Source: [A href="vny!://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=b5d260e2-b7a3-477d-94e4-d2bd99ae02a4"]vny!://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=b5d260e2-b7a3-477d-94e4-d2bd99ae02a4[/A][/FONT]
