Hundreds of people came to a bone marrow drive last Saturday in the hopes of becoming a bone marrow match for 4 year old Kyle Crawford.
Just last month, little Kyle was diagnosed with a deadly blood disorder called aplastic anemia.
If his condition goes untreated, he may have only six months to live.
Finding a bone marrow match is difficult in all cases, but the process has been made more difficult because Kyle is bi-racial.
Kyle is half Caucasian and half Asian, and chances are his donor will have to be as well.
"In Kyle's case because he's Chinese and Caucasian the most likely donor is going to be someone that is Asian and Caucasian. So there's not a lot of mixed race people in the national registry and it's a numbers game," said Carol Gillespie with the Asian American Donor Program.
Word of Kyle's plight spread across the Bay Area and that helped the turnout for the recent bone marrow drive which was held at Kyle's preschool, Serendipity in San Mateo.
More than 500 people came to the event and signed up for the bone marrow registry. About 70-80% of those people were half Caucasian and half Asian like Kyle.
It will be about 10 weeks before we know if anyone who registered is a match for Kyle.
In the mean time, the effort to spread the word about Kyle's condition and add more people to the registry will continue.
Another drive will be held this Saturday, Jan. 14 from 12-3 pm at Haight Ashbury Free clinic, 558 Clayton Street in San Francisco.
While Kyle will likely need a biracial donor, people of all backgrounds are encouraged to attend the event and join the registry. Even if you are not a match for Kyle, you can still be a match for another individual in need.
There is no cost associated to registering.
