Cook Children’s is urgently looking for blood stem cell donors for Plano pediatrician Dr. Danny Kim. After the 57-year-old doctor was diagnosed with leukemia, the healthcare institution turned to the community to find a matching donor.
“Dr. Kim has given so much support to our patients and families,” said Charlotte Settle with Cook Children’s in an official statement. “Now it’s time for us to support him.”
To help Dr. Kim find a matching donor, Cook Children’s partnered up with Be The Match, a branch of the nonprofit organization National Marrow Donor Program and manager of the most diverse marrow registry in the world.
According to Be The Match’s site, in blood stem cell transplants (as in other transplants) the best outcomes happen when the patient’s human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and the donor’s HLA closely match. HLA is a protein — or marker — found in most cells in our body that our immune system uses to know which cells belong to our bodies and which don’t.
The process of finding out if a donor is a match is quick, simple and painless. All you need to do is take a simple cheek swab and you’ll know if you are a match for Dr. Kim or other patients in need.
Cook Children’s together with Be The Match will host two donor drive events in November for volunteers to drop in and undergo an oral swab testing and join Be The Match’s donor registry.
Cook Children's Medical Center – Fort Worth
When: Wednesday, Nov. 15 from noon to 2 p.m.
Where: 1500 W. Rosedale Street, Fort Worth | Rosedale Office Building Parking Garage
Cook Children's Medical Center – Prosper
When: Thursday, Nov. 16 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: 4100 W. University Drive, Prosper | Classrooms 1621 and 1622
To join the registry you need to be between 18 and 40 years old, in good health and willing to donate to any patient in need.
