michelle still needs a donor

Michelle is still in search of a bone marrow donor, and time is running out to save her life. 26-year-old Michelle Maykin is a Vietnamese/Chinese American from San Francisco who was unexpectedly diagnosed with Leukemia, and has been bravely fighting for her life for over a year. I've mentioned her before, but you can find out more about her condition at the Project Michelle website here.

This is literally a matter of life and death. Her only hope for survival is a marrow/stem cell transplant from a matching donor. Michele's doctor told her that she needed a transplant by June 21, 2008 for her body to optimally accept the transplant, so the clock is ticking. At some point, she will be too weak and her body will reject a marrow/stem cell transplant.

None of her family or friends are matches, and they're desperately relying on the generosity of people like you to save her life. Please consider getting registered as a bone marrow donor. The registration process only takes ten minutes and requires no blood, just a simple a cotton swab of the mouth. You could be the one who saves Michelle, or someone else also in dire need of a transplant.

For those of you in the Bay Area, there will be two marrow/stem cell drives at UC Berkeley this week, on September 17 and 18, 10:00am to 4:00pm at Upper Sproul Plaza and Campanile Esplanade. For more information about upcoming drives elsewhere, go here. For more information about becoming a marrow/stem cell donor, visit hte Asian American Donor Program website here.

By the way, bone marrow donor registry is national, so you could be anywhere and be the one to save a life. Also, if you've already registered, it's important that you keep your information up to date. If you've moved, or your situation has changed, it might be worth checking to make sure everything's accurate.