REQUEST: Donor match needed for 4-year-old Devan

Four-year-old Devan is in need of a bone marrow (or cord blood) transplant. The donor that could be you could be you or someone you know. And his family has three months to find that donor.

His mother is distinguished foreign correspondent and SAJAer Indira Lakshmanan (she's in Bloomberg's DC bureau now) and his father is photojournalist Dermot Tatlow and they have written this heart-wrenching appeal that's being circulated around the world. 

All they are asking for now is for South Asians in general - and, any, especially of mixed South Asian and European heritage - to register in the potential donor registry. I am registered (and all South Asians should be!) and it's as simple as a cheek swab. More info below. 

We will update this post with info as we get it. Please send people to MatchDevan.com

Meanwhile, our thoughts are with Indira, Dermot and litte Devan.

Please pass this onto everyone you know - South Asian or otherwise - getting the word out is key.

If you are a journalist who wants to interview Indira to help get the word out, please e-mail saja@columbia.edu and put "Indira" in the subject line.

There's just 12 weeks left to find a donor, folks.

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From Indira & Dermot:

Our only child Devan needs your help. He’s four and has relapsed with a rare form of high-risk leukemia. His doctors believe his life depends on a bone marrow transplant that they hope to do after 12 weeks of chemotherapy. What is difficult is finding a donor match – 1 in 200,000 in his case, we've been told - and we haven't found one yet.

You or someone you know might be the person who can save Devan’s life. All you need to do is a simple cheek swab to find out. The organizations below will send you a kit. Donating is easy – these days it’s much like a simple blood draw.

1.PLEASE, REGISTER NOW. The test is easy & free, but processing takes time (10 weeks in the UK), and Devan doesn’t have much. Register below.

2.PLEASE FORWARD THIS ON TO OTHERS. Anyone can be a match, but those who are mixed Indian/Caucasian have an even better chance of helping Devan. Please, please, cut and paste this message to strip out any private email addresses and forward this to everyone you can. By forwarding this email to at least 10 people now, we can spread the word to 50,000 possible donors within 48 hours.

3. VISIT DEVAN’S SITE – www.matchdevan.com – we will be including details on how to organize your own drive, valuable information on leukemia and FAQ’s on registering and donation.

WHERE TO REGISTER
=> In the US go to Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry,http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now/join_now.html  (you need to be 60 or under)

=> In the UK go to the Anthony Nolan Trust, http://bit.ly/cpkxuy (you’ll need to be 40 or under)

 => In other countries go to Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide,http://bmdw.org/index.php?id=addresses_members&no_cache=1

Finally, if you’re pregnant, your cord blood is particularly valuable for helping children like Devan – please look here to learn more: http://parentsguidecordblood.org/content/usa/banklists/publicbanks_new.shtml?navid=15

Thank you so much for helping.

Love from Dev’s parents, Indira and Dermot