Great news everyone,
From our efforts, the Blood Center has identified TWO possible matches for patients currently searching, and both are willing to come in for further tests.

When: June – August

Where: Greater Houston Medical Buildings

Contact Officer: Phu Tran

Lend a Hand, in collaboration with the Vietnamese American Medical Association-Greater Houston, would like to offer a great opportunity for those interested in a career in Medicine. We are going to begin a preceptorship program in which you are under the mentorship of a Vietnamese-American physician and will have the opportunity to shadow the physician and learn about their specialty first hand. Please take a look at the list of specialties that we are offering (attached) and read the requirements carefully to make sure that you understand what is expected of you.

Purpose:

The purpose of this preceptorship program is to allow participants to observe and learn about medicine firsthand under the mentorship of a physician from the Vietnamese American Medical Association of Greater Houston (VAMA-GH). This preceptorship program is primarily geared towards those who wish to have a career in the medical profession and will allow its participants a rare look into the daily activities of a medical specialty.

Objectives:

v To learn about the daily activities and responsibilities of clinical physicians

v To ask questions and gain knowledge about the preceptors’ specialties

v To develop a strong relationship with a medical professional

Requirements for participants:

v Meet with their preceptor according to a personalized weekly schedule that is agreeable to preceptor and participant

v Submit a weekly case report on the most interesting case that week; keep a daily journal

v Act professionally, be on time, alert, and enthusiastic as participants will be in a professional setting observing medical practices

v Dress in a professional and appropriate manner during preceptorship hours

v Submit a Preceptor biography at the end of the program

v Attend a mandatory orientation before the start of the program

Remember, the chance to shadow a physician and develop a good relationship with that physician is important to consider. Not only will you have the potential to have a great recommendation letter for college or medical school, but you also get a glimpse of what being a physician is all about. If you are interested to be apart of this program, please email Phu Tran and CC Kesia Nguyen with the heading “LAH/VAMA PHO.” List your name, email address, cell (preferable) or home phone number, AND your top 3 specialties that you would like to preceptor in. We will do our best to match you with your choice, but there are no guarantees. The deadline to apply is by Sunday, June 8th at 9pm. No exceptions.

When: Saturday, May 24, 2008 & Sunday, May 25, 2008
Where: Hong Kong City Mall 4 (11201 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX)
Time: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Just this past weekend, LAH was able to register 320 people on Saturday at HK 4, 65 people at Cac Thanh Tu Dao and 422 people at HK4 on Sunday. That is over 800 people in just 2 days! The Vietnamese table was constantly busy and rarely did we get breaks, there were only four people from LAH manning the tables while the others passing out flyers and directing people over. There is still more that can be done to help Michelle! If you haven’t registered yourself onto the Bone Marrow Registry, do so this weekend! To all members who need volunteer hours, please come out to help LAH man the tables! See you this weekend!

Michelle Maykin, has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), which is a cancer of the blood. She is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. Michelle is 26 years old — she is an incredible human being and friend. Michelle was first diagnosed in February 2007. This past week, we learned that Michelle has relapsed and her cancer has returned.
Michelle, a Chinese-Vietnamese American and Berkeley alum, urgently needs our help in giving her a new chance at life. She is undergoing chemotherapy at present but needs to find a match for her bone marrow transplant by June 21st.

Fortunately, you can help. Let’s use the power of the net to save her life…something that couldn’t be done years ago, but is now possible.

How can you help? By coming to this weekend Bone Marrow Drives hosted by Lend A Hand:

What: Bone Marrow Drive 1: HELP SAVE MICHELLE!
When: SATURDAY and SUNDAY, May 17 and 18, 2008
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m
Location #1: Hong Kong 4 City Mall (11201 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX)

What: Bone Marrow Drive 2: HELP SAVE MICHELLE!
When: Sunday, May 18, 2008
Time: 9:30 AM-11:30 AM
Location #2: Nha Tho Cac Thanh Tu Dao (10610 Kingspoint Rd, Houston, TX 77075)

Please come out and get registered.

Getting registered is quick and requires a simple cheek swab and paperwork (10 minutes of your time). If you are actually a match, the donation process is VERY similar to giving blood.

“Project Michelle” (www.projectmichelle.com) wants to increase the number of Asians registered in the bone marrow registry. Their goal is to enroll 15,000 Asians. Her match is most likely to come from a person of Asian descent, however, very few Asians are actually in the registry and this makes it very difficult for doctors to find them a match. This is why we need your help.

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FAQs on Bone Marrow Transplant

How do I know if I’m a match?

If you are found to be a possible match, you will be contacted by the National Registry or your local center. You will be presented with the option of proceeding to the next level of testing.

How my marrow is collected?

The most common procedure is peripheral blood stem cell collection. You are given injections to support overproduction of marrow, which is then released into your circulating blood. The cells are collected by removing blood from a vein in your arm during a simple procedure. This is very similar to donating blood – isn’t it amazing that it’s that easy to save someone’s life?!