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Family Seeks Bone Marrow Donor for 6-Year-Old

Emily Kim suffers from leukemia and is waiting for a donor. Photo courtesy of www.emilykim.8m.com

By Ji Hyun Lim

Emily Kim seems like any other 6-year-old. She’s a bright and happy child who loves puzzles, drawing cartoons, going to school and being with her friends. But unlike most others, she suffers from leukemia, a disease that inflicts 3,250 children each year, according to the Childhood Leukemia Center.

Now the Kim family is looking for a bone marrow donor before early July 2001. A Korean American donor offers her the best chance for survival. Other Asian Americans could possibly be matches, but that’s less likely because certain genetic markers or antigens that determine a good match are race-specific.

“There are hundreds of donor centers where people could get a blood test. The national donor marrow registry will pull up names from any part of the country,” Kathleen Kim, Emily’s mother, said. “When you think about the Asians in the country, leukemia is not uncommon to children. [We’re] not going to be the only ones who need a transplant for their Asian child. There are 6 million donors on the registry and only 2 to 6 percent, max, are Asians.”

Emily’s parents discovered she had leukemia when she was 3 years old. She had been in remission since early April of this year. But then they found severe bruises all over Emily’s body, caused by low platelet counts. She also suffered from fatigue due to a low red cell count. Emily’s parents took her to the hospital and learned that her disease had recurred. Emily has undergone chemotherapy, and now needs a bone marrow transplant to survive.

The Kim family needs to raise $35,000 to cover the cost of the bone marrow testing. High resolution testing for a bone marrow match costs $1,000 per test, and the transplant is not covered by insurance.

“She’s been getting tremendous support from her school,” Kim said. “I can only say the families who have helped us so far have been so generous with their time and effort. It has carried us through this horrible incident. I would never wish this on someone else. It is mentally exhausting, emotionally wrenching, and tests every part of your spiritual faith.”

The chemotherapy has taken a severe toll on Emily, physically and emotionally. She has gained a lot of weight from the steroids she’s on, and sometimes she’s so physically exhausted from the chemotherapy that she lies in bed all day. She has some mouth sores and is losing her hair.

Emily’s mother realizes that the chances of finding a match on a donor drive are not that high, but hopes it may help another child who needs a transplant.

“It’s a complete win-win situation. It’s a simple blood test and it could save someone’s life,” Kim said.

• Kim must leave her job for an undetermined time to take care of Emily. Any government employee who can donate any vacation hours to her would be making a considerable difference in their lives. Please contact Barbara Veney at 703-305-4998. or e-mail her at barbara.veney.uspto.gov.

• Send all tax deductible donations to: Emily Kim Fund, c/o Quinn, McAuliffe & Rowan, 33 Wood Lane, Rockville, MD 20850.

• To find out more about Emily’s story, visit www.emilykim.8m.com. For more information on becoming a bone marrow donor, please call the National Marrow Donor Program at 1-800-627-7692 (1-800-MARROW2).

• Reach Ji Hyun Lim at jlim@asianweek.com.