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Seeking a life-saving match

Posted by James F. Smith May 12, 2010 06:14 PM
From Boston
to Boston
Devan.jpgDevan Tatlow has suffered more hospital misery than any four-year-old boy should ever have to endure. He was afflicted with a rare and acute form of childhood leukemia in 2007. He went through four months of treatment in Children's Hospital in Boston, and then another year of daily chemotherapy. By late 2008, it finally seemed that Devan had fought off the disease that nearly killed him.

In April, however, the leukemia returned, and Devan is back in a Washington hospital. He has undergone more surgery and chemotherapy in recent days. Devan's mother, Indira Lakshmanan (my friend and former Boston Globe foreign correspondent), and his dad, Dermot Tatlowdevan-newport-sm.jpg, are now desperately hunting for a match for a potentially life-saving bone marrow transplant.

Chances of a match are one in 200,000. Dermot and Indira are trying to spread the word far and wide to get people to sign up to see whether they might be that rare match.

The doctors are racing to find a donor; they have less than 12 weeks to locate the right bone marrow or cord blood for a life-saving transplant. The potential for a match is highest from people who are of mixed South Asian and European ancestry, like Devan himself.

Here are details, as Dermot posted them on the CaringBridge web site that records Devan's brave story:



As Devan does not have a marrow match we are initiating a bone marrow / cord-blood drive.

Please forward this message to your family and friends.

DONOR MATCH APPEAL TO HELP SAVE DEVAN'S LIFE

Our only child Devan needs your help. He’s four and has relapsed with a rare form of high-risk leukemia. His doctors believe his life depends on a bone marrow transplant that they hope to do after 12 weeks of chemotherapy. What is difficult is finding a donor match – 1 in 200,000 in his case - and we haven't found one yet.

You or someone you know might be the person who can save Devan’s life. All you need to do is a simple cheek swab to find out. The organizations below will send you a kit. Donating is easy – these days it’s much like a simple blood draw.

1.PLEASE, REGISTER NOW. The test is easy & free, but processing takes time (10 weeks in the UK), and Devan doesn’t have much. Register below.

2.PLEASE FORWARD THIS ON TO OTHERS. Anyone can be a match, but those who are mixed Indian/Caucasian have an even better chance of helping Devan. Please, please, forward this to everyone you can. By forwarding this email to at least 10 people now, we can spread the word to 50,000 possible donors within 48 hours.

3. VISIT DEVAN’S SITE – we will be including details on how to organize your own drive, valuable information on leukemia and FAQ’s on registering and donation.

 WHERE TO REGISTER

=> In the US go to Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry (you need to be 60 or under)

  
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About this blog

Worldly Boston is James F. Smith's report on people from our community who are making an impact in the world, and on people from abroad doing noteworthy things in Greater Boston. We live in the most global of communities. Worldly Boston helps share those stories.

About James F. Smith

Jim Smith came home to his native Boston in 2002 to become the Boston Globe's foreign editor after spending 22 years abroad. He was previously based in Buenos Aires and Mexico City for the LA Times, and in Johannesburg, Tokyo and The Hague for the AP. In 2007 he became the Globe's national political editor, coordinating presidential campaign coverage. He is a Yale graduate, and has an MBA. He is married to Maxine Hart and has two sons, Matthew and Daniel.
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