johnkemeny.com

We learned yesterday afternoon that Stanford Cancer Center has found two donor matches for Nick out of the thirteen potential matches that had been developed by the national registry. Human leukocytes antigen (HLA) typing is used to match patients and donors for transplants. The immune system uses these antigens (markers) to recognize which cells belong in your body and which do not. Stanford was searching for a set of ten markers for the best match. Each of the two donor matches that were discovered, match ten out of ten criterion markers. Further evaluation needs to occur on the two donors by Stanford before a final selection can be made. Moreover, up until the actual transplant event, the national registry will continue to search for other possible donors that might make an even better match.
   
In any event it looks like Nick is going to get his chance at a transplant procedure which is heartening indeed for all of us. Nick and his family are so very grateful to all those people behind the scenes at EMC, as well as the other large companies that joined in, The Asian-American Donor Program, the Be The Match Donor Program, all the media involved, and the Stanford/Kaiser medical teams that have helped bring about this hopeful development. We are equally thankful for all of the outpouring of personal support by individuals all over this land and around the globe for their good wishes, prayers, support, and for all the donor volunteers who have come forward this past month.

Five weeks ago, we received the devastating news that there was 0% chance of finding a donor. Due to all of the overwhelming support and response to our call to action, not one, but TWO 10 out of 10 matching markers have been found and secured. We have not been told who these angels are due to confidentiality reasons, but we are so grateful for them! Both donors will be prepped, as well as Nick, for a transplant, which should take place within 30 days. Nick still has a long road ahead of him, so we ask that you continue to keep him, as well as both donors, in your thoughts and prayers for a successful transplant. We ask you to continue to spread the word for the need for donors, as Stanford will continue to search for even more perfect matches, until the actual transplant day. Also, we never want any family to experience the hopelessness of not being able to find a donor match. The harsh reality is that there are thousands of people just like Nick waiting for a donor match to be found. Time is ticking away and they need your help too. Please continue to spread the word that every person ‘in good health’ should be tested and enlisted into the registry. Time is of the essence! This is Nick’s wish, and ours, that every person should have a fighting chance!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and God Bless!

Kindest Regards,
Carole, Nick & Family

Bottomline: Keep Donatiing. Thanks.

Updates here and here.

Here are Myths and Facts about Bone Marrow Donation thanks to Dan Stack.

Updated May 20 8:10 pm

Letter to Mark Fredrickson from Stacy Morales (friend of Nick):

Subject: Information from hospital meeting

Hi Mark,

An update on the information I learned today at the hospital meeting with Carol Gillespie and Carol Wiegand.

*Nick will most likely start chemotherapy (a slightly different version from the first two rounds) tomorrow. His cell count is slightly better and the doctors are wanting to buy him some more time to find a donor. If not put him into remission, slow down the multiplication of cancer cells.

*Stanford should have Nick in the national database by this weekend to start running the search for a match for a bone marrow transplant

*Once a match is found for Nick, it is usually about 30 days minimum until transplant date due to additional testing and analyzing that is required.

*AADP are expediting testing for potential donors. They are the quickest way to get test results into the national database. Anyone who is going through Be A Match that is not a drive specifically for Nick will have their test results in the system in approximately 4-6 weeks from test date. This is why it is important that if someone is not going to a AADP drive or a specific drive for Nick, they order their kit through AADP. www.aadp.org

I think the most important thing that I came away from the meeting was this: Potentially a match could be someone that has heard our push and been tested. If they went the longest route for test results, that’s 6 weeks from now until they are found to be a match. Add on top of that the 30 day minimum for transplant date. We’re looking at 2 1/2 months. God willing Nick has that. The message we need to push is do not wait, get tested NOW….At a drive for Nick (being held in Bay Area, at EMC World in Orlando, and at EMC HQ in Massachusetts) or through an AADP kit.

A side hopeful tidbit I learned is that a match could potentially be found from someone of a different race. Carole Gillespie said it is rare but she spoke of two cases she’s seen where someone of a completely opposite race was a perfect 10 for 10 match. It’s a shot in the dark, but you never know!

Thanks again for all that you are doing!

Stacy

Takeaway (from Dave Farmer):

Please go to http://www.AADP.org to register online and order a free test kit to be mailed to you. Kits ordered through AADP.org (not the ones ordered through marrow.org) are being expedited specifically for Nick. Free kits are available for mixed races or minorities. At the top of the page, click “Register” and select “Request a Test Kit.”

Do it today!

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock these past couple of days, you’ve seen publicity re: Nick Glasgow’s urgent need for a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. The difficulty is that Nick is part Sino-Asian (specifically 1/4 Japanese) and part Caucasian, which makes finding a match difficult. However, testing for a match is a simple cheek swab.

Mark Fredrickson’s blog has all the details.  Phillip A. Harris’s blog has up to date information on the search, including important donor links: www.marrow.org, www.aadp.org, www.asianmarrow.org, and www.aabmf.org.

Twitter has been all-a-twitter’ng about Nick, including my close personal friend (don’t sue me!) Phil Plait (hint to @donttrythis, @grantimahara, @pennjillette, @GStephanopoulos and all celebrities: we need more celeb re-tweets); and thanks to @storageanarchy there has been broad tweetsupport from IBM, SAP, HP, NTAP, HDS, … .

Facebook has at least 2 groups, the main group and one I started, for which I even paid a very modest amount of money to advertise.

Then there is the free publicity this website got when CBS-TV Channel 5 in San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose ran a story (video) on Nick, and showed this website as an example, highlighting johnkemeny.com! The great thing about that is it made my unaware cousin Peter, who lives in SF (and Paris and the World), fall off his chair when he saw it!!

Update: SF Examiner Story, Digg this, and ‘UP’ this.

This post is way out of the ordiinary. Right now (and time is of the essence) you could help save a life. Read on …

Appropriately wearing a Sombrero (Galaxy), Audrey Hepburn would be 80 yesterday, the day before the Cinco de Mayo. Lia and Alan celebrate with her.

116 years ago today abstract painter/sculptor Joan Miró was born in Barcelona. He had an obsession with imaging the Sun in new ways. Apparently, so do IBM and Oracle.

(From left to right) The Red Sun, Dancing Under the Red Sun, The Adoration of the (Blue/Red) Sun, The Gold of the Blue, Managing the Sun, Upsidedown Under the Red Sun.

Oh yeah, … it is!

This is based on real events, and was produced and directed by a NASA astronaut.

On a brighter note, the 2009 online calendar for Yuri’s night parties worldwide is up.

“Yuri Gagarin was the first human to go into space on April 12th, 1961. The US Space Shuttle first launched on April 12th, 1981. Yuri’s Night is like the St Patricks Day or Cinco de Mayo for space. It is one day when all the world can come together and celebrate the power and beauty of space and what it means for each of us.”

Interestingly, there is no party yet for either Boston nor Moscow.