You could save this boy's life

7-year-old Ryan is in need of a bone marrow donor.



7-year-old Vietnamese American leukemia patient Ryan Jacoby is in desperate need of a bone marrow donor. He has beat leukemia before -- his brother was a match -- but unfortunately his cancer recently returned.

7-Year-Old Cancer Patient Seeks Compatible Bone Marrow Donor

You may know that it's often difficult to find bone marrow matches for patients of Asian descent, because Asian Americans are poorly represented in the bone marrow donor registry. Frankly, we're terrible at this.

What makes finding a match for Ryan particularly challenging is that he's of Vietnamese and Caucasian descent. Bone marrow matches on the registry are even lower for mixed race patients.

Mom who faked son's cancer sentenced to probation, jail time

Sandy Nguyen convinced her 6-year-old son that he was suffering from leukemia.



Remember the Colorado mother who faked her son's cancer to collect thousands of dollars in donations? On Tuesday, she was sentenced to five years probation and 90 days in jail with work release.

Probation, jail time for mom who faked son's cancer

Sandy Nguyen convinced her 6-year-old son that he was suffering from leukemia, faking his cancer for over a year and scamming his school into raising more than $25,000 in community donations for his treatment. In September, she pleaded guilty to one count of charitable fraud and one count of child abuse.

Perhaps worst of all, the kid wasn't just playing along -- his mom had convinced him that he had leukemia, and he truly believed he was dying. Nguyen shaved his head every day, and the boy apparently thought he was getting chemotherapy while he slept at night.

Mai Duong needs your help.

Leukemia patient urgently needs a bone marrow or umbilical cord stem cell transplant



Mai Duong is a 34-year-old woman from Montreal who is fighting for her life. Last year, she was diagnosed with acute leukemia, and beat it. But 10 months after being given a clean bill of health, she relapsed. Leukemia. "For the second time, because life's a bitch." But she is not going down without a fight.

Leukemia patient calls on visible minorities to donate stem cells

Mai, the mother of a 4-year-old, is currently in the hospital receiving chemotherapy treatment, but her chances of survival will be greatly increased by a stem cell donation, either through cord blood or a bone marrow transplant -- most likely, from a compatible donor of Vietnamese descent, like herself.

Unfortunately, only 19 percent of bone marrow donors in Quebec are non-white. And just one percent of the bone marrow registry is composed of Vietnamese people. Mai's brother, who had a 30 percent chance of matching, was not a match. So she's turning to you, good people of the internet, to get the word out.

Could you be the match that saves Baylor's life?

7-year-old multiracial leukemia patient needs a bone marrow match



Passing along this news of a kid that could use your help... Two years ago, 7-year-old Baylor battled leukemia and beat it. Unfortunately, his family recently found out that he relapsed, and he needs your help.

Baylor is undergoing treatment but will need bone marrow transplant to survive. Since he is multiracial -- Asian and Caucasian -- his marrow match will likely come from a donor who is also multiracial.

There are bone marrow donor registration drives happening this week in the Bay Area -- it only takes ten minutes! Refer to the flyer above. You can also request a home kit, which is crazy easy to do.

Could you be the donor who saves Baylor's life? Even if you're not his match, you could be the lifeline someone else needs. For further updates, visit the A Match for Bay Facebook page. For more information about registering to be a marrow donor, visit the website of the Asian American Donor Program.

Colorado mom accused of faking son's cancer for donations

Sandy Thi Nguyen received $25,000 in community donations



Asians behaving badly... fake kid cancer scam edition! In Colorado, a woman has been arrested for perpetrating a hoax that her 6-year-old son had cancer and accepting thousands in community donations.

Arapahoe County mother accused of faking 6-year-old son's cancer, accepting thousands in donations

According to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, Sandy Thi Nguyen accepted $25,000 in donations after convincing her child, other family members, and the community at large that her young son was suffering from leukemia. She was arrested on charges of theft and criminal impersonation to gain benefit.

The community began raising money for the boy last fall -- charity walks and everything -- because hell, who's not going to give money to the kid with cancer? They raised thousands of dollars in donations for the Nguyen family... who apparently used the funds for a trip to Disneyland, among other things.

The sheriff's office launched an investigation last month when the Department of Human Services received information that the boy may not actually have cancer.

Baby leukemia patient Isaac needs your help

At six months old, Isaac was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia



Heads up. Passing along this information about a child in need... This adorable baby needs your help. Last summer, 6-month-old Isaac was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, a form of blood cell cancer. The treatment requires several rounds of chemotherapy and ultimately, a bone marrow transplant. His parents, Sarah and Joel, have essentially lived at the hospital with Isaac since July.

The family lives in Dallas now, but they are looking to move next to a clinic in another part of the country to give Isaac the best treatment he can get. Their community -- "Team Isaac" -- has put together a fundraiser to help cover the medical expenses and associated costs. Here's some more information about Isaac's story: