THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 17, 1996 TAG: 9605170001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Thousands of miles from here, in Hawaii, a little girl named Alana is near death from a rare form of leukemia. A life-saving bone-marrow match has not been found for her.
Her situation is so desperate that more than 18,000 Hawaiians have rolled up their sleeves to be tested for compatibility, but to no avail. The problem of finding matching bone marrow is multiplied for people like Alana who are from mixed racial backgrounds. Minorities, too, face long odds of finding a match. Baseball great Rod Carew helplessly watched his daughter die recently as she waited for a bone-marrow match.
Alana, who is 23 months old, has been brought to our attention by a former Hampton Roads resident, a Filipino-American, who recalled the many people of Asian extraction living in our area.
``Maybe the caring people of Tidewater can help this baby,'' she writes. ``It only takes one donor.''
Indeed it does. The American Red Cross is part of a national bone-marrow registry. Because the bone marrow of ethnic minorities is in critically short supply, the Red Cross tests these potential donors for free. The bone-marrow typing test is simply a blood test.
In the case of Alana, there is an urgent search on for Asian or Pacific Islander donors. Experts point out that minorities and those of mixed racial background give a special gift when they allow themselves to be typed.
``Chances are when an African American is an organ donor, that person's organs will go to another African American, because genetically it's more likely to be a good match,'' says Doug Wilson, of LifeNet Transplant Services. ``Same would go for bone marrow.''
The tragic story of Alana could be a wake-up call for all of us. If you want to be an organ donor, get an organ-donor card, carry it with you and tell your next of kin. Donate blood the next time you have a chance. And don't forget to be typed for bone marrow. The Red Cross makes it easy: Call 1-800-MARROW7. by CNB