One Donor Could Save Two Lives

Just 10 minutes is all it takes to find out if you are a match

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. July 28, 2007. Keane and Ethan were born on October 13, 2006 as two little healthy baby boys. They had everything a parent wishes for, 20 little fingers and 20 little toes and big blue eyes.

Carrie and Xander Denke were married in January, 2002 and were excited to begin a family, having two beautiful children come into their lives. Usually, when a young couple expects children, it is a very happy moment. This was the case for Carrie and Xander, until Ethan was admitted to Tarzan Medical Center in February, 2007 with a distended abdomen and a fever of 103.

"Even though our pediatrician suspected it might be a fatal auto-immune disease (HLH – Hemaphagocytic Lymphihisticytosis), both he and we hoped this wouldn’t be the case," Xander said.

Those hopes were shattered later that month when Ethan's bone marrow biopsy for HLH came out positive. The bad news didn't stop here. The Hematologist, Dr. Hofstra of CHLA, explained that 80% of HLH cases in children under 1 are genetic. Since Ethan and Keane are identical twins, this would mean that Keane would get sick too.

"I cannot put into words how Carrie and I felt that day, our world shattered from one moment to the next. We found out that Ethan has a deadly illness and that Keane would probably have this rare disease. We were such a happy family," states Xander.

Keane's illness manifested itself in April, 2007.

The doctors explained to the parents that the only cure would be a bone marrow donor transplant of another person's healthy cells giving Ethan and Keane a second chance at life. The sooner doctors find a match, the better, since then the twins don’t have to go through countless rounds of chemotherapy. The search for a donor on the Be The Match Registry® (operated by the NMDP) started immediately.

The parent's prayers were answered when they received the news only a few months after that an almost perfect match (9 out of 10) was found. Then a few weeks later the terrifying news came that the donor was no longer available. Today, Keane and Ethan have still not found a donor. That’s why we ask YOU to help save these two precious lives and the lives of all the other children, who need a bone marrow transplant. Blood cancers, such as leukemia, are the most common disease children in the U.S. die of. For a lot of them there is a cure, but only 20% of those who need a transplant, find a match.

A bone marrow test consists of four cheek swabs or drawing a teaspoon of blood to determine the DNA tissue characteristics. The results will be placed, anonymously in the Be The Match Registry® (operated by the NMDP).

Register as a donor and save a life. To get a kit in the mail or to organize a drive call 1-866-340-DKMS (3567) or send an e-mail to: info@dkmsamericas.org.

About DKMS

DKMS was founded in 1991 by Peter Harf and Professor Dr. Gerhard Ehninger, after Peter lost his wife, Mechtild, to acute leukemia. Since its inception, DKMS has recruited over 1.6 million donors making it the world’s largest marrow donor center.

In 2005, Peter, together with his daughter, Katharina, furthered DKMS's mission, establishing an office in New York City.

Worldwide, DKMS's tireless efforts and unending commitment to its cause, has helped facilitate nearly 12,000 transplants.*