Santa Clara County Prosecutor Charlie Huang Needs a Bone Marrow Donor Match to Treat Recurrence of Leukemia
Charlie Huang, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney and co-founder of the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association, is shown in an undated previous photo and a recent photo as he undergoes treatment for a recurrence of an aggressive form of leukemia. His colleagues and family are leading a drive to increase Asian entries into a national bone-marrow registry with the hopes of finding him a transplant match. (Courtesy of Oanh Tran)
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/05/18/bone-marrow-donor-search-underway-for-co-founder-of-national-asian-prosecutors-association/
A drive to find a bone marrow donor is underway to save the life of a veteran Santa Clara County prosecutor who co-founded a national organization to increase Asian and Pacific Islander representation in the criminal-justice system.
Charles “Charlie” Huang, 45, has spent two decades with the South Bay district attorney’s office and in 2010 helped create the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association. He is experiencing a recurrence of an aggressive form of leukemia diagnosed in 2019, and from which he went into remission less than a year ago.
Oanh Tran, a fellow deputy district attorney who says Huang has been a mentor to a whole array of Asian American attorneys across the country, is leading a drive to get people to join a national registry of bone-marrow donors.
“Charlie’s got a big voice and a big heart. He has been a pillar in diversifying our profession and nurturing AAPI prosecutors and non-prosecutors to represent ourselves in our government and our community,” Tran said. “He has been giving to our community for as long as I’ve known him, and this is something we can do as a small piece of a thank you for everything he’s done for us.”
Tran said a global search has turned up no matches for potential marrow-transplant candidates for Huang, a married father of three young daughters.
A dearth of donor profiles is a pronounced issue for Asian American Pacific Islander populations, who have a 41% chance of finding an adult marrow match — a necessity for treating severe forms of leukemia — according to the National Marrow Donor Program. The match rate for White patients, according to the program, is 77%.
“There has to be someone out there who can match and help,” Tran said.
Tran and her office are urging people of Asian descent — but also the general population — to join the national bone-marrow database, with the aim of helping Huang as well as others in need of a bone-marrow transplant.
Getting added to the database only requires submitting a cheek swab. Tran, as well as Huang and his family, are asking people to register through the Asian American Donor Program at aadp.org or at bethematch.org. Instructions for registering can also be obtained by texting “angelforcharlie” to 61474.
To join the registry, you must be 18 to 44 years old and in good general health.
After registering, prospective donors will be mailed a test kit within three to five business days, the return time is between two and three days, after which it could take up to two weeks to be entered into the national database.
Tran said “time is of the essence,” and that Huang will likely need a marrow donor by the end of June. To help speed up registry, Tran is offering test-kit pickups directly from her office in San Jose, which can be arranged by emailing letshelpcharlie@gmail.com.
“He’s given so much to his community and nation, and I want to him to see his daughters grow up,” she said of Huang. “If there’s anybody who deserves a chance to continue doing his great work, it’s Charlie.”