David's Story

In many ways, David is your typical college junior. He loves gaming, cats, and good food. His easy-going nature and sense of humor makes him a joker amongst family and friends, many of whom are here in LA and many also dispersed across the world. He's active in clubs and societies, building up new skills and hobbies. He has big dreams and ambitions for his career. Whilst all of these things hold true, life changed pretty quickly in early January 2023.

The onset and diagnosis of David's leukaemia is not dissimilar to many of the stories we've heard - some flu or cold-like symptoms that you just can't shake, but seemingly nothing too serious. However after a doctors visit with abnormal blood draw results, it all escalated very quickly - David was sent to the ER and subsequently diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. He started his chemotherapy treatment almost right away.

Given his specific form of AML, his oncology team told us early on that a bone marrow transplant - sooner rather than later - would be his best chance at long-term remission and survival. Coming from a mixed Chinese and German background, we knew the challenges associated with finding a suitable donor for mixed race patients. After finding out his sister wasn't a match and other immediate family members weren't suitable donors, we initiated a small campaign amongst friends and family to increase registry sign-ups. We know this movement is bigger than David alone, and we hope that by playing a role in diversifying the registry, David's cause can make a difference to lives of cancer patients all around the world.

David has been incredibly resilient in the face of all of these challenges. He's currently paused his studies whilst undergoing treatment, and he can't wait to get back into things. We know the journey ahead is a long one and we are so grateful for all of the support.

Please consider signing up for your local registry to help David and others like him. You could be someone's cure!