Chirag “Chigi” Strong Bone Marrow Match - SEWA Gurudwara Sahib
Chirag “Chigi” Strong Bone Marrow MatchChirag Patel is a 39 year old Atlanta resident, who was diagnosed with CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia), a cancer of the white blood cells characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of predominantly myeloid cells in the bone marrow in August 2012.
Subsequent to this diagnosis, Chirag was immediately put on a medicine called Gleevec – a miracle drug that since its introduction 12-13 yrs ago has dramatically increased survival rates to 95 percent. Chirag’s response to this medicine was going great as his last complete lab work right before Thanksgiving showed major improvements. Unfortunately, his remission did not last for long and based on his recent tests, Chirag has now progressed to a more critical phase of CML called ‘ Blast Crisis’ which happens very rarely – maybe 3 % of all cases diagnosed with CML.
Our Appeal
Chirag is currently undergoing intensive chemotherapy, and will soon need to resort to a bone marrow transplant. While siblings have a 1 in 4 chance of being a bone marrow match, finding a compatible donor today is becoming a tougher possibility with smaller families being the trend. It becomes even harder for someone with a South Asian heritage to find a potential match, as our community representation in national registry is significantly low. To improve the chances of finding compatible donors for Chirag, we appeal to all of you to register yourself as a bone marrow match donor on National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry. The test is just a simple as cheek swab and they will mail you the kit once you register.
Date: Sunday, February 10, 2013
Time: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Venue: 10590 WoodStock Road, Roswell
