This is a guest post from Joon's father, Patrick.

Just a few weeks ago Joon was diagnosed with acute leukemia, and since then has been in hospital undergoing treatment. Her recovery depends on the identification of a donor whose blood stem cells are compatible.

Joon Gremillet-Nguyen is a young French woman of Vietnamese descent, currently a university student in Geneva, Switzerland. She was adopted in Vietnam when she was few weeks old. She turned 18 in July.

In May she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia –Philadelphia Chromosome positive. At the end of her chemotherapy treatment, towards the end of September, she will have to undergo a stem cell transplant.

Since Joon is an adopted Vietnamese child, there are no compatible donors from within her adoptive family. To find a compatible donor for Joon, we must find a donor whose genetic profile is as close as possible to hers.

For this reason, the best chance of finding a match is from within the same ethnic group as Joon. Unfortunately, there are very few Asian (and in particular Vietnamese) potential donors enrolled in the international stem cell donor registry, although sadly, there is a high incidence of Joon’s disease in this community.

And the second problem for us is that Viet Nam is not a participating country of the Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide, which means that the Center in Switzerland coordinating the search cannot tap into the profiles of donors in Viet Nam. Therefore, it is more likely to find a match for Joon among Vietnamese living abroad. For this reason, we are most grateful to organisations like Cheekswab for relaying this call for help.

More info about Joon can be found on the blog: http://teamjoon.net

Nina Polvanich Louie, a young wife and mother of Thai and Chinese descent from California, is in desperate need of a bone marrow donor following her diagnosis of Stage 4 Lymphoma in September of last year. Her time is running short as doctors have determined that the cancer has spread to her brain and she must find a bone marrow match within 5 weeks.

There's a very strong push in California and throughout the country to find Nina a marrow match, and given the timeline it's possible to have expedited marrow processing by labeling the kit "VINIYA" in the promo section. Friends and family are putting a call out to unregistered Asian Americans throughout the country to join the registry as soon as possible, whether online or at a local drive.

If you're in Southern California the Nina Needs You facebook page is active with drives taking place in the LA area.

One day I hope to not have to write any more of these drive announcements. For every new person who joins that day gets one day closer.

Pre-launch to-do list for cheekswab.org

Admission: when I launched this website almost exactly a year ago, I was so nervous.

I had worked so many hours on this site. I'd spent Friday nights and Saturday afternoons at Starbucks, writing and re-writing the content of every page, sometimes walking to my car with effectively a paragraph of text after 4 hours of work. I knew the road was long but not insurmountable. I knew that God gave me the abilities to finish the content and technical details to push the site live. Much like my time in the hospital, my time creating Cheekswab was slow, and taken a day at a time. And in faith that one day those steps would not be in vain.

I remember putting the link to cheekswab on Facebook. That's when the nerves were strongest. Would anyone care? Would anyone help, would anyone join? Were the hours and effort I put into this site all in vain? I had so many doubts. But I wrote the status and pasted the link. I took a deep breath and clicked "share."

The support from friends and family was overwhelming.

The link was re-shared over and over (and over) again. Visitors begin to hit the site from around the world. I received emails and messages from people to lend their encouragement and support for the cause. And even greater than that, people joined the registry.

It was such an amazing day to be alive.

Signing up for the registry

I made a promise on my hospital bed. But it wasn't just to myself; it was also to my nurses, my doctors, my family, my friends, everyone else I saw who was touched by this disease, and to God.

It was the acceptance of the burden of knowing the reality of cancer. It was the promise that because I now knew what it was like, I would never forget it. I would never turn a blind eye or a callous disregard to those who stood in my shoes. If I could do something about it, in my limited capacity as a non-medical professional, I would.

Speaking at a drive in February

I did a lot of things this year through Cheekswab that I never expected to do. I spoke publicly to more people than I ever expected for anywhere from 5-45 minutes at a time. I manned booths at conventions and shows. I put my face and my story out there for the scrutiny of others. I invested time and money into something I really believed in. I coordinated drive supplies, volunteers, and venues.

I became invested in the lives of people whom I'd never met from across the Internet. I watched people I care for pass away, and their friends and family members cope with the loss. I watched people I care for survive, with a newly appreciated love and vigor for life. I met people who donated marrow graciously to people they didn't know, solely because "it was the right thing to do." I met other fighters for the cause and heard their own inspirational stories, whether it was their own medical history, the death of a loved one or conviction placed within them by a friend.

Volunteers who help make drives possible

18 months ago Cheekswab was nothing but a dream. An idea I'd mention randomly to close friends and family, just to see if they'd give me a good reason not to follow through. It was one of those "wouldn't it be nice" ideas, more idealistic fantasy than concrete plan. I didn't know where to start. I didn't feel qualified, I didn't think I had the necessary skills or personality.

Even after a year things are still very much a work in progress. But luckily since day one I haven't walked this path alone. There's been an incredible system of support, including BeTheMatch regional coordinator Juliette Williams, other contacts from Be The Match, and a tireless group of friends and supporters who are willing to help me staff drives/complete kits.

What a year it's been; 463 new donors and over 10,000 independent visitors to cheekswab.org in 2012. Here's to new and even more exciting times in 2013, and even more saved lives.

Cheekswab has been a dream come true for me, and to everyone who has been involved in any way, shape or form, I thank you.

Thank you KCPC SNL for the opportunity to share my personal story and host a bone marrow drive at your service. The reception to the drive was awesome, and 47 new donors right before the new year was a great way to round out an exciting year.

Please remember to share the cause with your friends, family, schools, student organizations, coworkers, etc.! With education and awareness I firmly believe that an absence of minority bone marrow donors is a problem that can be eliminated within our lifetimes. Thank you for your willingness to save lives!

This brings the official total of in-person bone marrow registrations for Cheekswab to 463 for the year!

Location: Korean Central Presbyterian Church, Salt and Light Service (English Ministry Young Adults)
Address: 15451 Lee Hwy Centreville, VA 20121. Room 2120 (map)
Date/Time: After service on Sunday, December 30. Service begins at 2:30pm, so the drive should run from roughly 4-5pm.

• For directions to KCPC, please click here.
• For questions and clarifications regarding what bone marrow registration is, what the registration process is like and if donating marrow hurts, please click through the rest of the content on cheekswab.org. If your question isn't answered anywhere here, please contact me.

I'll be giving a short message on both Sunday, December 23 and Sunday, December 30 (drive day) related to my personal story in creating cheekswab and the need for bone marrow registrants. Given that Cheekswab officially launched almost exactly a year ago, a bone marrow drive on the second-to-last day of 2012 seems like an awesome way to end the year. It's been an incredible run so far.

Here's to more adventures, bone marrow registrants and saved lives in 2013!

Location: JW Marriott Hotel (web)
Address: 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004 (map)
Date/Time: Saturday, November 17, 2012 from 11:00am - 4:00pm

I've been in contact with Shannon, a friend of Janet Liang who recently moved to the DC area to practice as a lawyer. To honor Janet's memory and to help find a match for Jeremy Kong in CA, Shannon is helping to coordinate a bone marrow drive at the 24th Annual NAPABA Convention in Washington DC. I'll be at the convention all day at the BeTheMatch registration table with Shannon, her husband, and representatives from BeTheMatch.

Please help spread the word!

Probably the most remarkable thing about talking to Priscilla was convincing her that her story was worth sharing in the first place. She was continually surprised that her marrow donation was a big deal at all. Because donating was such an obvious choice to her, she felt like she didn't have much to say about her "decision" to do so. In her own words, "What decision? Why wouldn't I do it?" I came to learn that it's this kind of selflessness that characterizes Priscilla, in a nutshell.

But I reminded her that it's not as easy a decision for many others, and that her experiences and thoughts as a college donor could really resonate with future donors who find themselves in similar circumstances. So without much further ado, I present Priscilla's donation story.

(Mandatory disclaimer: As always these words reflect nothing but her own experiences, and with any medical procedure experiences may vary. But these words are 100% her own, with the exception of minor grammatical changes that were approved by Priscilla before publishing this post.)

Can you please introduce yourself and why you're writing this post?

My name is Priscilla, and I am a 21 year old Korean American and finishing up my last year at the University of Virginia. I am writing this post to share about my experience of being a bone marrow donor — I hope it’ll provide some insight to those who may be thinking about donating in the future and encourage those who are not yet on the registry to join!

Please walk us through the day when you donated.

I was initially called to donate through Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC), which is the most common way to donate your stem cells to your recipient. Through this method, I was required to go into the clinic every morning for five days to receive an injection with a drug called Filgrastim. They would take my vitals, ask about any symptoms that I had and then administer the shot. The first two days of the Filgrastim were generally painless, and it was only the last three days when I experienced some recurring pain in my lower back and hips. However, I realized that as long as I kept myself moving, the pain would disappear so it was something that was definitely manageable.

On the fifth day, I was ready to donate my stem cells through a process called apheresis. After my last dose of Filgrastim, they hooked me up to a collecting machine that separated my stem cells away from the rest of my blood. This process usually takes about 4-6 hours, however, the process was cut short for me because I had an allergic reaction to the sterilizing gas inside the machine. This is neither common nor was it specifically related to the PBSC process itself, but it left me unable to donate non-surgically. Instead, I was scheduled to surgically donate marrow two days later in order for me to donate my stem cells to the recipient on time.

The morning I was scheduled to donate marrow, I was met by a representative from the hospital at 7 AM in my hotel lobby. I was then escorted to a room where I met the surgeon and anesthesiologist. After filling out consent forms and doing additional testing, I was given a relaxant and within a few minutes, I went to sleep. The next thing I remembered was waking up 2-3 hours later in the recovery room, with some soreness on my back. I had difficulty standing up without feeling nauseous and felt really weak from having low blood pressure, but I eventually gained some strength throughout the day just from rest and getting extra IV fluids.

The doctor met with me in the evening to discuss with me about how the surgery went. He told me that the bone marrow surgery was actually the fastest he had done in eight years since he finished in about 14 minutes, only needing to take about half of the marrow that they were expecting to take since my marrow was so concentrated with stem cells. He also told me at that time that I was actually a 99% match to my recipient and because of that, the marrow transplant that would occur the next day, would most likely go smoothly without any risk for graft-versus-host disease. I was very thankful for that and he just discussed my current condition and how to take proper care of myself after leaving the hospital. I stayed overnight, took a shower in the morning to get the bandage off my back, and then was discharged.

How did your family react to your decision to donate?

They didn’t think much of it at first when I got the initial phone call just because my dad had also received a similar call a few years ago. But following further testing, he didn’t turn out to be the most suitable match. However, after I was confirmed as a match and I informed my parents of my decision to donate, they did get a little concerned, but I think they respected my decision.

Were you worried about something going wrong?

Not initially, especially since there is not much risk associated with PBSC. However, I did get a little anxious about the surgical donation due to the general anesthesia, but other than that, I did not think too much about risky possibilities.

What exactly was the procedure that was performed?

Through the Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation, you receive five days of injections of Filgrastim, a drug that stimulates production of stem cells in your marrow and helps to move it into your bloodstream. On the fifth day, they do a simple collection through a process called apheresis that takes approximately 4-6 hours (there are some clinics that separate the collection process into two consecutive days). Just as if you were donating platelets or plasma, they hook you up to a machine, where they stick a needle in both your arms, and begin to separate the stem cells from your blood—the blood goes out in one arm and gets returned back to you in the other. PBSC is still considered "research" due to the use of Filgrastim in the donor, so consent forms to participate are required to be signed before donating.

Surgically donating bone marrow is a procedure that simply requires a day to donate. The surgeons will normally give you general anesthesia that should wear off in about two hours. During those two hours, the surgeons will lay you on your stomach and make two small holes on the surface of your skin and about fifteen smaller holes on each the right and left side of your pelvic bone. They then insert a hollow needle with a syringe attached to draw out your marrow.

Did it hurt? What would you say to someone worried about the physical pain?

For PBSC donation, the only pain that I experienced was from the effects of the Filgrastim injections. It is different for everybody, but I experienced fatigue and pain in my lower spine and hips. However, like I said earlier, I realized that movement helped keep the pain dampened. Additionally, many apheresis clinics require a mandatory intake of Tylenol around the clock to help with the pain.

As for the bone marrow donation, the actual procedure does not hurt since it is under general anesthesia. It is only after the procedure where you may experience some pain. For me, the pain was not as bad as I thought it would be. The pain was initially moderate with some aches but after a few days, it was more of a discomfort than anything and it did not really hinder me from doing anything in particular.

If you are worried about the physical pain, I would say that in my experience, it does not hurt as much as people think. It is definitely tolerable and Be the Match and your doctors will make sure that you are as comfortable as possible, providing a narcotic and other pain relievers. I personally did not take any pain relievers and still felt as though the pain was not bad at all.

How long was the recovery process?

The recovery process was pretty quick. It took about two weeks to fully recover from any physical pain that I had in my back and about a month to get over fatigue and anemia for which I just needed to take iron pills for supplement. I think the hardest challenge in regards to recovery was getting around especially since I had to walk around my college campus every day. You will probably end up walking much slower than normal and get tired more quickly. There is also the inconvenience of not being able to hold and carry anything more than 20 lbs.

Would you donate again?

Yes, I would definitely donate again. The process is easy when compared to the consequences of not donating bone marrow to someone who needs it. It is unfortunate to hear that many people do not get to live out their full lives because they cannot find a donor in time although matches exist. Thus, more than "saving someone’s life," I saw donating bone marrow as helping the recipient to avoid a possible deadly consequence of their disease, one that is truly avoidable and not necessarily an inevitable, normal outcome to their disease. In addition, Be the Match is really great at making sure you are comfortable and encounter the least amount of inconvenience during the process. Thus, you lose very little to donate and in return, the recipient gains a new life.

All things considered, what do you feel about what you've done?

To be honest, I don’t feel like what I’ve done is anything noteworthy. I believe that donating is the right thing to do, especially knowing that you would expect that if you or your loved one were in the position of needing bone marrow. We are all human beings, and I feel it is our duty to help each other out, especially when the stakes are so high.

Jeremy Kong is a two-year-old Chinese-American superhero out of California. With Jeremy's Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) diagnosis in June 2012 and impending bone marrow transplant in the next several months, Jeremy's parents, family, friends and community out in California (with help from the Asian American Donor Program) has been leading a very strong campaign to find him a bone marrow match. There is currently no available match in the registry.

Jeremy Needs You has created a social media page at the Jeremy Needs You Facebook Page, which is a steady stream of drive announcements, updates on Jeremy's condition, and resources to become registered as a donor.

Jeremy Needs You has been successfully creating drives on the East Coast, and I've been in contact with Jeremy's aunt Yvonne to attempt to get one started in the DC area. She will be flying out to DC on October 7, 2012 to run a drive at Chinese Community Church of Greater Washington in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Swab for Jeremy Kong

Location: Chinese Community Church of Greater Washington (web)
Address: 7716 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (map)
Date/Time: Sunday, October 7, 2012 from 1pm - 4pm

Please help spread the word about this drive and help save Jeremy's life!

DoSomething.org is an awesome organization that seeks to empower teenagers to actively participate in campaigns to create social change. They currently have several active campaigns listed across a variety of topics: voting, animal adoption, poverty, texting and driving, bullying, and more. They also offer a number of contests, scholarship opportunities, and resources to mobilize America's youth. I wish I had known about a similar organization when I was in high school, as everyone I've been in contact from the organization has been responsive and extremely dedicated to their mission.

Today's particularly awesome because it's the launch of their Give a Spit campaign (fantastic name, BTW), which seeks to coordinate bone marrow drives on college campuses across the country. From the DoSomething.org staff:

DoSomething.org's Give A Spit Campaign Is Back

This year, DoSomething.org’s Give A Spit About Cancer campaign is back, bigger, and better than last year. In partnership with Be the Match we will seek to mobilize college students to run bone marrow donor registration drives on their campuses. College students are the most in-demand donors on the registry. The 2012 program aims to launch drives on over 200 college campuses and sign up 15,000 new donors.

There’s a real need for registered bone marrow donors in the US. Why?

• Leukemia kills more children every year than any other disease
• Only 30% of patients in need of a bone marrow can find a match within their family. The other 70% rely on complete strangers.
• 60% of patients never receive the donations they need

But we can Do Something about it.

• Donors age 18-24 are in the highest demand. Donations are most successful when the donor falls within this age range
• All it takes to sign up for the bone marrow donor registry, and potentially save a life, is a cheek swab

Young people need a concrete action they can take that doesn’t require donating money or fundraising. Give A Spit About Cancer is simple, free, and potentially life-saving.

• College students lead local donor registration drives on their school campuses
• DoSomething.org and Be the Match help the students organize their drives by shipping free of charge swab kits containing all of the materials needed to register 200+ new donors
• Be the Match provides free-of-charge bone marrow typing for all participants

The campaign runs from September 24 - November 15, 2012, and results from the different college campuses will be announced officially in December. Drive participants are eligible for prizes which will be announced soon!

To get involved,

• Learn more and sign up to participate at www.dosomething.org/spit
• Text "SPIT" to 38383 for more information
• Got questions? Email spit@dosomething.org

From this post at http://reappropriate.co:

Janet made it her mission to register Asian American bone marrow donors, and thanks in part to her efforts, at least 18 bone marrow matches were made to recipients nationwide. However, last week, Janet passed away without finding a perfect match for herself. Today, many other Asian American leukemia patients are still waiting to find their perfect match, like 2-year-old Jeremy who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. To celebrate Janet’s life and her legacy, we want to register 170 new potential bone marrow donors in Janet’s name in just 7 days.

Janet Liang passed away last week.

I've put off posting my thoughts on her passing until now because I wasn't sure what my thoughts were. But with this new cyber initiative adopted by several leaders in the Asian American online community to register donors this week in Janet's honor, I think it's an appropriate time to share about Janet's impact on my life and on Cheekswab.

I didn't personally know Janet, but our paths crossed a little. I heard her voice on a White House conference call and she heard mine. I sent her a message on Facebook that understandably never got a response. I commented from time to time on her Facebook status updates. She liked Cheekswab on her Facebook account.

For someone I've never met, Janet had a very strong impact on significant aspects of my life. The launch of Janet's viral video on reddit coincided with the launch of Cheekswab, and I received emails from people wanting to donate because of Janet's plea. I ran two drives in Janet's honor earlier this year, as people who saw her video became convicted to give part of themselves in hopes of saving her.

She struck a chord in the consciousness of thousands of people across the Internet. She advocated for a cause more personally and successfully than anyone who came before her. Team Janet registered over 10,000+ new donors from high-need ethnic groups in this year alone. She will save hundreds, potentially thousands of lives through those registrations.

She just couldn't save her own.

When I speak at drives, I use the line that "Janet is you, Janet is me, Janet is your best friend, daughter, child, parent, spouse." But Janet was literally me. She was a 25 year old Asian American leukemia patient. She wanted to positively impact the world by being a teacher. She was deep and reflective and eloquent, per her blog. She was confused and angry but ultimately optimistic.

I will remember you, Janet Liang. I will remember you because you are me. You are Andrew. You are those sitting in the beds right now, not believing what they're going through. You are those sitting in the waiting rooms, hoping for a miracle.

The world shines a little less bright today. But Heaven rejoices.

Rest in peace, friend.