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05 February 2013
"My story is just one of many," said Kevin. "There are thousands of African-Americans and people of color around the country who desperately need a bone marrow transplant but can't find a match. My wife and I started this campaign to do what we can to raise awareness about this urgent issue and to register as many people as possible."
Kevin, a 44-year-old award-winning new media journalist, is father to Lelah, 1, stepfather to Aminah, 16, and husband to Lateefah, a civil rights leader and MacArthur Genius grant award recipient. In August 2012, Kevin was diagnosed with T-cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia (T-PLL), which primarily affects adults over the age of 30. The cancer is very rare and aggressive, with only 10 cases per year in the United States. Since being diagnosed, Kevin has endured a month-long stay in the ICU, five emergency surgeries and multiple hospitalizations.
Every year, more than 10,000 patients in the U.S. are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases for which a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope of a cure. About 70 percent of patients in need of a transplant do not have a matching donor in their family and depend on an international registry to find a match. Patients are more likely to match someone from their own ancestry. Only about 7 percent of the nation's 10 million registered potential bone-marrow donors are African-American.
"Everyday, I ask for forever with Kevin," said Lateefah. "I know there is a match out there, and I want to do everything in my power to find that person who will save the love of my life and Lelah's daddy."
Kevin and Lateefah are working with local organizations and volunteers to organize a series of drives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Among the drives currently scheduled include:
* January 21, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the African American Museum and Library, Oakland* January 27, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the Third Baptist Church, San Francisco* February 11, from 1 to 5 p.m., at San Francisco City Hall, San Francisco* February 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the The Quad, 525 4th Street, Oakland
The couple urges African Americans to find and attend a local drive in their communities and to join the Be the Match bone marrow registry. Registering takes just a few minutes, and involves a pre-screening and swab sample of the inside of the cheek. People can also go online to www.marrow.org to order a kit to be sent to their homes.
For more information on Kevin and Lateefah's story and their important effort, please visit: www.KevinandLateefah.com. •
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