Lillian's Story
Had it not been for the cancer diagnosis that struck both of our precious kids, we would have been an ordinary family of four. Jerry was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at three and already went through two bone marrow transplants. While Jerry was going through cancer treatment, Lillian was born and grew up to be a vibrant and sweet girl. She brought us so much joy and hope! Yet the same cancer diagnosis shattered our hope. It turns out that both kids have a genetic predisposition to AML. Therefore, the best chance for a cure is to have a bone marrow transplant. In general, every patient’s best possibilities of finding a match are within their own ethnical group. Since minorities are underrepresented in the bone marrow registry, the chance for a patient to find a match is also much lower. 77% of white people can find a perfect match in the registry, whereas only 40% of Asian and 25% of African-Americans will. Please register to be a potential bone marrow donor, you just might be the ONE person who can provide HOPE for a family like ours. People of your same ancestry need you to save their lives!