November 22, 2006
Dear Friends:
It has been a dynamic change in my life through the journey of Joanne!!
It all started with her illness, followed by writing of her book, and now a quest for a nonprofit public cord blood bank and stem cell research center in San Francisco Bay Area. For a patient like Joanne needing critical and timely transplant, a cord blood transplant could provide the life-saving therapy, as the traditional bone marrow transplant would do.
As many of you have known, cord blood or umbilical stem cells are a rich, non-controversial source of stem cells. It has proven to effectuate cures from some of the most devastating diseases and cancers on earth including Leukemia and Sickle Cell Anemia.
In the past few months, Scott Hildula, Gregory Porter, and I had been talking to several prominent physicians at UCSF (University of California at San Francisco), CHORI (Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute), and Stanford University to see if they would warm up to the idea of establishing a Cord Blood Bank and Stem Cell Research Institute to benefit the residents in Northern California and beyond. Not surprisingly, they all agreed with Prof. Michael Amylon of Stanford University that there is a crying need for it, especially for San Francisco Bay Area.
Fruitfully, I received confirmation a few days ago that UCSF was excited about the proposed nonprofit public Cord blood bank and would work with the Joanne Pang Foundation in developing a world class cord blood bank and research center at UCSF that could potentially benefit many patients around the world according to Prof. Morton Cowan, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of BMT Division of UCSF Children’s Hospital.
Gracefully, Msgr. Harriman quickly permitted the use of the lower church in the Sunday afternoon of December 10 to invite talented parishioners and school parents to help get the words out to the residents in San Francisco Bay Area after I broke the news to him.
In this meeting at 2 pm, Scott Hildula will share and summarize all of the discussions with the physicians from various institutes. Gregory Porter will help strategize the fundraising activities. We might also have the opportunities to hear keynote speeches on the advancement of the Cord Blood Stem Cell Research from some physicians specialized in this promising field. We plan to set up an effective working committee which will involve all participants to target every corner of San Francisco Bay Area Communities as Prof. Cowan once said that this would be a major undertaking project. We would need to quickly raise critical funds within the next 6 to 9 months to enable UCSF to jump-start this project.
If established, this world class cord blood bank and research center at UCSF will benefit patients for many generations to come. It will also carry on the spirit of God’s gracious love and honor all patients who had missed critical transplants.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) commented in December of 2005 after the House passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act HR2520, “Not only has God in His infinite wisdom and goodness created the placenta and umbilical cord to nurture and protect the precious life of an unborn child, but now we know that another gift awaits us immediately after birth, something very special is left behind – cord blood that is rich with stem cells.”
I hope you would consider joining me in this crusade. Your help could perhaps save lives of your own friends, neighbors, and even your loved ones.
Blessings,
Joseph Pang, Ph.D.
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