Please Help! Help find a match for my friend!

[Sesame]

Recently, I haven't been quite active on CnH due to some recent news about my friend. My friend, Wincheng Lin found out on New Year's Eve that her leukemia had relapsed. As a result, close friends have formed a group called All4Win to help Wincheng find a bone marrow match. I would appreciate any help spreading the word on our bone marrow registry drives (currently in the NYC area). I do have a flier and press release, so if you'll like to help, please let me know and I can email more information!

Recently, Wincheng did receive good news that there is a potential donor match, we're remaining cautious as there is a battery of tests that needs be done and the potential donor could refuse to donate at any point.

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Here's a little bit about our story:

In 1998, Jeanette Moy and Wincheng Lin (Class of 2002) held a bone marrow registry drive at the University of Rochester to find a match for their high school friend David Li. On June 9, 2006, 27 year-old Wincheng Lin was diagnosed with AUL, an extremely rare combination of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, with a tumor the size of a grapefruit in her chest. She completed several rounds of chemotherapy and emerged from Rochester General Hospital in good health and strong spirits.

It has been approximately two years since Wincheng achieved remission on December 15, 2006. However on December 31, 2008, Wincheng learned that the leukemia had relapsed. In order to beat this cancer, she will need a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, neither of Wincheng’s two sisters are bone marrow matches for her. So far, no match has been found. It’s up to us to help her find a match.

All4Win is a cadre of UR alumni, Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority, Inc. sisters, & friends (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2433106193#/group.php?gid=60219780730) that have been organizing various efforts to help Wincheng find a match. You can find out more about the Registry, how to join the Registry, upcoming bone marrow registry drives, how to receive a free registry home-kit, and more.

To learn more, please see our Facebook group All4Win, email us at all4wincheng[@]gmail.com, or visit Wincheng's daily blog http://all4win.wordpress.com/. Our next bone marrow registry drive is in NYC’s Chinatown on February 21, 2009 with the help of DKMS Americas (http://www.dkmsamericas.org/help-save-wincheng-and-others). If you're in the area, it'll be great to meet some CnH members. It is free to register.

If you're not in the NYC area, please see the various links on our Group page where you can receive a free home-kit to sign up for the bone marrow registry. If you'll like to organize your own drive at school, church, or at work, please let me know!

Please feel free to tell your friends, family, and co-workers.
Thank you for your support!!!

-- Sayaka

 

[threewingedfury]

I'd love to help her if I lived in NYC and if I was an eligible donor. I donate here in my area.

 

[Sesame]

At bone marrow registry drives, potential donors just sign up to join the registry. Usually, depending on which organization is hosting the drive, it's just a cheek swab test and a few forms to join. Your information is then kept in the registry until the age of 55 (you can always refuse later on, remove yourself from the registry, etc.). Patients with blood cancers will search various registries to see if there is a potential donor that matches their HLA tissue type and other medical factors. Only when you are a match for a patient, will you be contacted to do further tests that confirm you are a 9/10 or 10/10 match. The patient's insurance will take care of all costs (for example: travel, stay, medical).

For more general information about the Registry and the who, what, where, when, how, and whys of bone marrow donations, please check out the following sites:
- National Marrow Donor Program: http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Donor_Registry/index.html
- DKMS Americas: http://www.dkmsamericas.org/help-save-wincheng-and-others
- All4Win Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60219780730
- Wincheng's Day-to-Day Blog: http://all4win.wordpress.com/

Thank you!

 

[Tiatrack]

I'm a fellow UR alum! I'm back on the west coast now, but I'll look into getting registered out here.

 

[Sesame]

Ohhh cools!!! Thanks Tiatrack!

 

[Diva Chins]

I'm going in March to be put on the donor registry. If I'm a match, maybe they can transport my marrow? Who knows. I hope for the best for your friend, hopefully I can help out some how...