SWAB YOUR CHEEK, SAVE A LIFE Caryn, a 32 year old first generation Taiwanese American, was diagnosed with ALL - Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia this February. This is an incredibly aggressive disease. Without a stem cell donor match, she only has a 10% chance to live. Caryn is in the middle of her MFT program at USC with the dream of becoming a therapist to serve underprivileged children. She grew up in New York, received education in Taipei, Boston, and as of this year, lives in LA and is married to her devoting partner Tony. She is a caring, big-hearted, generous woman who has made tremendous impact within her communities and continuously does so. It’s an incredibly painful process to go through so many chemotherapy treatments within such a short period of time. Our family has had many sleepless nights, going from shock to despair, hope to inspired resilience, wishing for a miracle. Through this experience, we are really beginning to understand the preciousness of human life. And what it really means to come together as a family, as a community, as a movement. We are doing everything in our power to keep fighting for Caryn. From creating the instagram account @swabforcaryn to raise awareness to partnering with BeTheMatch to organize donor drives throughout New York, Taipei, LA, Oakland, and most recently in Denver at last month’s Cultural Roots Night Market event. Another donor drive will be held at the AAPI Wellness Day on May 7th at the History of Colorado. Together, with everyone’s support, we’ve registered over 6,554 people to the national stem cell/bone marrow registry! One of the main reasons why Caryn and her family have vowed to campaign so rigorously is to raise awareness for the urgent need for more AAPI representation in the registry. As of 2020, there are over nine million potential donors in the BeTheMatch Registry. Unfortunately, only 11% are Asians in this pool. Because ethnicity matters when finding the perfect match for a stem cell transplant, we are calling in Asians to support our cause. This has become a national call to action to not only attempt to save Caryn’s life, but also give vulnerable Asian American folks hope in the future, a fighting chance, if they too are in dire need of healthy stem cells to save their lives. We have been filled with gratitude seeing celebrities on social media like Jeremy Lin, Ming-Na Wen, Ronny Chieng share about Caryn’s case and encourage AAPI folks to show up. We know we cannot do this alone. It takes a nation-wide movement to rise together, for us to choose humanity, dignity, unity and to increase our collective chance and our inherent right to live a long life. Will you help us? For more information, you may contact tiffrexrei@gmail.com or call me at 732-610-4887.
HER NAME IS CARYN
YOU HAVE THE POWER THAT COULD SAVE HER LIFE Caryn has a rare & aggressive form of leukemia (ALL). She needs a stem cell donor match ASAP. The right match could increase her survival rate from 10% to 70%.
WAYS TO HELP
IF 1 SEE YOU’RE
A MATCH
2 FOLLOW & SHARE
@SWABFORCARYN
Sign-up for a free swab kit Ages: 18–40
#SWABFORCARYN IN COLLABORATION WITH
We are calling in 18-40 yr old Asian Americans, who are in good health to register by answering some basic health question. You will then be sent a swab test kit free of charge. It only takes a few minutes to swab in the inner cheek and mail back to the registry. If you have a match, you will be notified. There is no obligation to commit if you are matched. You may request to remove yourself from the registry at any time; please remember though, your selfless donation can potentially save a life. To help, register at:
my.BeTheMatch.org/SwabforCaryn
Thank you, Tiffany Lin, Cousin of Caryn Hsu
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May 2022 | Feature
Volunteers with BeTheMatch register potential stem cell donors at History Colorado on April 16, 2022.
