Fil-Am teen needs life-saving bone marrow donor

Leukemia patient Ben Lesser needs a lifesaving bone marrow donor. MANILA MAIL

BETHESDA, Maryland — It’s a life and death matter for 18-year-old Ben Lesser of Bethesda, who has been diagnosed recently with an aggressive form of leukemia. He is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.

Ben’s medical team had checked him against the 29 million people on the national donor registry, but there were no matches. Apparently, the best chance of a bone marrow match is someone of similar ethnicity (Filipino/European).

Ben Lesser is a senior and a track star at Walt Whitman High School. He is now fighting for his life in the intensive care unit at Georgetown Hospital.

Up until a month ago, Ben was a healthy kid. According to a family friend, Ben went to the doctor in January, complaining of flu-like symptoms and a rash. The cancer is killing those cells and they have to be replaced.

His friends, many of whom are too young to sign up themselves, have started a social media campaign urging people to register to be a bone marrow donor through the “Be the Match” website in hopes of finding a donor match for Lesser.

You Could Save a Life, Join the Bone Marrow Registry

https://join.bethematch.org/

#FINDBENSMATCH

He needs a bone marrow transplant, and if you are a Filipino or Filipino American you could be his match. You must be 18 to register, but all it takes is a simple cheek swab.