Repost: Please Support Project Michelle

On November 8, Catzie and I had the honor of being the Keynote Speakers at the F.U.E.L. Leadership Conference (Forging, Understanding, Empowering, and Leading) held at the University of Maryland-College Park. Not only did we meet some wonderful students repping the Asian American Student Union and other orgs on campus, plus some high school students, but we also met Ide who told about his friend Michelle and his mission to save her life.

See, we kept seeing folks walking around the conference with these t-shirts which said "Project Michelle" and it was kinda jolting to see my name walking past me all afternoon. Then Catzie asked about it b/c she kept getting distracted by seeing my name everywhere too, I guess, and Ide told us the story about his friend Michelle. She has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant, but b/c so few Asians register as donors, she's having a hard time finding a match.

So Catzie and I signed up as donors. It's very simple: you fill out a donor form and then do a cheek swab procedure--you use 4 swabs and it takes just a couple of minutes. Just don't eat anything before you do it--we had chocolate chip cookies before we swabbed. Enough said.


Here is Michelle's story and more info about how to get involved, including a donor drive taking place at the University of Maryland-College Park Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 18:

Michelle is 26 years old.

Diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in February 2007, Michelle underwent chemotherapy for seven months but relapsed in May 2008. She now needs to find a bone marrow match o save her life. You could be that person.

What you can do to help Michelle or others like her.

The first step in becoming a hero requires a cheek swab and and ten minutes of your time. If you are a match, the transplant can often be done entirely through the blodd. The outcome is simple--someone lives because of your donation. You could be the one to save Michelle or one of thousands of other people like her.

www. projectmichelle.com

Many thanks to Ide, Dien, Neha, Dharma, Sharon, and all the other students we met. Hopefully, I'll get some more pictures soon and can give a more complete thanks.

Peace and love always,
Michelle