HELP!!!

I received heartbreaking news that a close friend from my undergraduate days at SFSU has a 2 year old son who is fighting Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and needs a bone marrow transplant to survive.

OJ Leonardo and his wife, Stephanie, have a son named Harrison who underwent chemotherapy treatment at the beginning of this year. His cancer went into remission this past August. However, just before Thanksgiving, he was hospitalized again as the cancer relapsed. Doctors and the family are preparing another round chemotherapy and searching for a donor.

The chances for a suitable donor are higher for similar ethnic backgrounds. Specifically, the donor must have identical Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA). Unfortunately, the parents' and Harrison's brother's HLA types do not match which means they are searching for a non-related donor. For Harrison, he is biracial, of Filipino and Caucasian descent. The pool of bone marrow candidates is very low among Asian American communities which makes saving Harrison's life, and many others, extremely urgent.

Spread the word. Volunteer as a donor.

For more information about Harrison and bone marrow programs, see: http://www.helpharrison.com/.