The Cupertino Courier

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Lynbrook alum looking for bone marrow donor

By MICHELLE MAGHRIBI

Lynbrook High School graduate Jonathan Kang, 18, is in the prime of his youth, but unlike many of his peers, he's not searching for a college to attend. He's looking for someone to save his life.

Ironically, Kang was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005 while trying to donate blood at his high school blood drive. Now he is seeking a donor of his own.

Lynbrook held a bone marrow registration drive for Kang on April 1, ending up with 143 donors.

According to Cynthia Carlson, a recruitment specialist for the National Marrow Donor Program, approximately one in 30,000 people are donor matches.

"Because Jonathan is of Asian decent, we are appealing to the Asian community," Carlson said.

Initially, Jonathan found a perfect match in his brother Jack.

"Luckily for Jon, I turned out to be a perfect match," Jack Kang said. "We performed a stem cell transplant last July. Everything looked good post-transplant for about three months, at which point Jon relapsed."

Kang was born in Sunnyvale shortly after his parents and brother immigrated to the United States from Taiwan in 1987. Prior to the diagnosis, Kang was a proud member of his high school badminton and football teams.

He won the award for "most improved player" for football, eventually starting games as the center offensive lineman. Then he learned of the diagnosis.

"He was perfectly healthy in every way,' Jack Kang, his only sibling, said. "There were no symptoms, no discomfort, nothing. It came as a complete shock to him and everybody else. The scary part was the speed at which everything happened. His actual diagnosis came on a Tuesday, and the doctors told him he had to begin chemotherapy that Friday."

Jonathan's participation in organized school sports is aiding his fight for life.

"Jon credits what he learned in football to helping him fight his disease," his brother said.

"I want people, especially young people, to be aware of this issue and try to help out anyway they can," Jonathan Kang said. "Seventy percent of my fellow patients will not be able to find a sibling match. I am hoping to use my own case to raise awareness, especially among young people in high school, about the need for donors."

Jack Kang saw changes in his brother after he was diagnosed.

"Before the illness, Jon was very quiet and did not share his feelings," Jack Kang said. "If you see Jon now, though, you never would have guessed that. He is open and gregarious. He has matured greatly, and although he is still a kid, you can see how much this illness has shaped him to be a better man down the line."

Kang is now at home in Saratoga, and looks forward to visits from family and friends. Even if a prospective donor does not come up as a match for Kang, donors can still help others by being entered into the National Marrow Donor Program registry.

For more information or to become a bone marrow or stem cell transplant donor, contact Cynthia Carlson at 510.495.4021 or carlson@nmdp.org.