Saving Janet Liang, a former University of California Los Angeles student, who is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant, is the main reason for the drive, Huynh said.

Every year, thousands of adults and children need bone marrow transplants, according to the Puget Sound Blood Center website. Only 30 percent of patients with leukemia or other cancers who need a transplant will find a match in their family, according to the site. Liang is part of the 70 percent who cannot.

Enslow and Huynh want to educate people about bone marrow donations and try to help save Liang’s life, they said.

Huynh said she wants people to understand exactly what is done in a bone marrow drive, who can be a donor and the importance of donating bone marrow.

“I constantly donate blood, and I know they are always asking for bone marrow,” Enslow said. “We’re trying to build the registry.”

Liang was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2009, according to helpingjanet.com, the website dedicated to helping Liang. During her treatment at the UCLA Medical Center, she began her “Team Janet” campaign to find a bone marrow match. Liang achieved full remission in 2010.

In December 2011, after a year and a half of being cancer-free, her cancer returned. Currently, her best option for a full recovery is to find a match by April, according to the site.

All people do in a bone marrow drive is fill out forms with basic information about themselves and get the four corners of their mouth swabbed with a cotton swab, Enslow said. It is a simple process that could save a life, she said.

Enslow and Huynh needed a project for their human services class, and Huynh heard about Liang through a video posted on the Chinese Students Association Facebook page. Bone marrow drives are done across the country in honor of Liang in hopes of finding a bone marrow match for her. The two decided this would be a perfect project, Huynh said.

So is the current president of the Chinese Student Association. When So saw the video and learned Enslow and Huynh were putting on a bone marrow drive, she wanted to join, she said. So’s main motivation for joining was to raise awareness about how it is easier to find a bone marrow match with someone of the same ethnicity, she said.

So was excited when she heard about this project because bone marrow matches are difficult to find, especially for Asian Americans like Liang, So said.

More people of color are needed because compared to the 73 percent of those registered to donate bone marrow who are Caucasians, only 8 percent are African Americans, 8 percent are Asian/Pacific Islander, 9 percent are Hispanic, 1 percent are Native Americans and 3 percent are multi-racial, according to the Puget Sound Blood Center.

 “Bone marrow matches are so hard to find, and I want as many Asian Americans to step up for this cause and be a donor as possible,” So said. 

People have the misconception that bone marrow drives are painful, Enslow said.

“I don’t like that there is a stigma about bone marrow drives,” Huynh said.

The swabs are then sent to Puget Sound Blood Center where they are put in a database. After the bone marrow drive, people will not be contacted unless they are a possible match for someone, and they can change their mind about becoming a donor at that point, Enslow said.

“We want people who are 100 percent committed because you can be selected at any time,” Huynh said.

So attended a bone marrow drive in 2009 and has been in the bone marrow database since. She has not been contacted but said she will donate bone marrow if she is asked.

For more information on the bone marrow drive or Janet Liang, search “WWU Bone Marrow Drive — Help Janet” on Facebook, or visit www.helpingjanet.com.

Donate?

The bone marrow drive will be held from Feb. 27 to 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the sixth floor of the Viking Union next to the information desk and in Red Square.