My niece was diagnosed with ALL at age 15, went into remission with chemo then received a secondary diagnosis of CML which required a bone marrow transplant. While waiting for a donor match, our family became aware of the role AADP plays in the Asian community to increase the donors on the registry. AADP does life-saving work and makes a difference in our community.
I started interning at AADP this summer after learning about the organization from a friend and am proud to be a part of the team. Our mission to save lives and the work we do speaks for itself, but what I see everyday working with the staff and seeing all of the hard work that is put into this cause makes my experience even more worthwhile and rewarding than I expected. Everybody here is not only an expert on the subject, but they are also truly passionate about helping people and making a difference for all patients in need of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. We are continually reminded that the drives that we set up almost daily and all of the work behind the scenes is worth it whenever we receive notification that a patient has found their match! This is an outstanding and influential organization within its community and I am eager to see what else it will accomplish in the future.
In 2012, my brother was diagnosed with ALL at the age of 24. AADP reached out to us and ran an entire campaign to register potential donors. Our family had no idea what we were doing-it was AADP that provided the materials, network, training, and support that gave my brother a chance.
Their staff was timely, extraordinarily knowledgeable and professional, and went out of their way to help our family. To this day we are still in contact and the organization is truly a force for good in northern California
My niece was diagnosed with AML at age 24. It was out of the blue, and devastating.
AADP was THE organization that gave us hope, direction, and a positive outlook.
We learned a lot working with this organization, about the scarcity of minority donors and the importance of building the numbers in the donor registry, which will save many, many lives.
Everyone we worked with at AADP, and continue to work with, are shining examples of hope, energy, compassion, and "let's do this" positivity.
In May of 2010 our teenage daughter relapsed with leukemia and needed a bone marrow or stem cell transplant to survive. AADP went above and beyond in their efforts to help us find a match for our daughter. AADP sent representatives to our city to hold several donor drives for our daughter, even though we are located two hours away from their office. The director spent extensive time with me on the telephone over the the next few months, both encouraging me in my distress and looking for ways to help increase her odds of finding that perfect match. I am sure their efforts to register minority donors has added significantly to the marrow donor pool. I have nothing but the highest regards for this great program!
Asian American Donor Program has been a community leader over the past years and making efforts in helping patients to find potential donors.
All the employees there are super rock and been really helpful to help patients set up drives and events.
'Hope' is a word often politicized and abused in our diverse society, but when it refers to saving a human life from a tragic, often fatal illness, it carries a great more meaning and import. When a patient receives a diagnosis of a life-threatening blood disease, they need to have hope that someone somewhere out there may have the answer, the desire and capacity to offer the gift of life. For over twenty years the Asian American Donor Program has provided a vital service and space for realizing that precious gift, and given hope to many Asian and Pacific Islander Americans who otherwise may have had little or none. The tireless efforts of their wonderful, dedicated staff and enthusiastic volunteers to lend comfort and support to those diagnosed, while educating and registering thousands of potential bone marrow donors through countless drives and events have ultimately saved lives. Hope indeed lives and breathes throughout this vital, irreplaceable, life-affirming organization.
For many in the multi-ethnic community, AADP may be the last survival hope for patients. This kind of hope is not just for patients but also for family members who have exhausted all avenues to keep their family member alive. I know some of these hard-working people at AADP; the job they have is incredibly difficult but they always do it with compassion and understanding. There is no substitute for the human support they provide. Ethnic communities are lucky to have such a source.
I am so glad to know about Asian American Donor Program. I have friends who volunteer and has done amazing works at AADP. I am planing to volunteer there in the future
The Asian American Donor Program is a grassroots community organization that has been an amazing resource and organizing force in Northern California efforts to fight and cure blood diseases. They have been instrumental in organizing efforts around my close friend Nina's search for a bone marrow donor to cure her rare case of lymphoma (more information at www.savenina.com).
AADP partners with Be the Match, the national bone marrow registry, to educate and recruit more potential donors from all backgrounds. They do provide additional support to those of Asian descent because this group is so largely underrepresented in the national registry. Many people don't know that typing for the registry is *free* and can be done in under a few minutes with a simple cheek swab. This simple act can potentially save the lives of thousands who are searching for a match.
I have volunteered for AADP on several typing drives at companies, schools, and events. I have personally met and worked with their extremely attentive and well-informed staff to organize drives across the Northern California area. It's people like this that make me hopeful we can find a cure for my friend.
In short, I can't think of a better organization working in this space that is more deserving of your donation dollars and volunteer time.
