A Reflection on the "Cord Blood for Life" Project Kick-Off

Dear JPF Friends:

The heavens helped celebrate this very special moment by providing the surprisingly sunny, warm and slightly breezy weather, considering the cloudy, cool and misty days before and after the launch. We had about 200 people attending the kick-off event at the San Francisco City Hall on November 15.

A big Thank You to Chris’ 5th grade classmates, Joanne’s high school pals, teachers, parents, doctors, news media, community leaders and friends for participating in this event. Thank you to Senator Carole Midgen for sharing her personal experience of matchless bone marrow searches as she was battling the deadly leukemia. And Thank You to Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (our former neighbor) for sharing her involvement in the Asian American Donor Program after witnessing our dilemma back in 2001 when we searched for a matched bone marrow donor for Joanne. We were also encouraged by the inspirational talks given by SF Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, SF DPH Director Dr. Mitch Katz, Former state Senator Jackie Speier, Dr. Jordan Wilbur of Cancer Hope (Joanne’s doctor at CPMC), Executive Director Roxanne Fernandes of UCSF Children’s Hospital, and Chairman Jonathan Leong of Asian American Donor Program.

The resolution put forth, and approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on November 20th (with a file number of 071569), “commending JPF’s incredible challenge of raising $2.5 million to initiate the first Northern California Umbilical Cord Blood Bank,” further verified the need for this public and nonprofit cord blood bank. Joanne was truly fortunate to be a San Franciscan as I recalled that the Board of Supervisors adjourned its regular meeting back on January 21, 2003, out of respect for her passing on January 13th of that year.

Thank you, too, to The Lions Clubs of San Francisco and The Peninsula for inviting us and Fr. Vito Perrone to present the JPF Fundraising Project in the evening of November 16. Thank you, Fr. Vito Perrone for addressing the need to support the JPF as we embark on this challenging NCUBB project, as well as for sharing your memorable encounters with Joanne. This project needs community grass-root support, and we are hoping to have the backing from the Lions Clubs and many other similar organizations.

Thank you to Charlotte Holper, a Saint Cecilia School 5th grader, and her pal Casey Stengel, for their donation of $48.39; money earned from their work selling homemade lemonade in their neighborhood. The two of you really made this day especially special for us. We will need many more individual contributions like yours at the $50, $100, $200 or $500 or higher level to help us raise the needed startup funds to provide life-saving therapies in Northern California and worldwide.

While the kickoff events are like a train which has just left the station, and it, like the Joanne Pang Foundation, has a long way to go before reaching its final destination, we will always follow Joanne’s little kite of hope, love and faith to help the needy patients for a chance at life.

Happy Holidays!!

Joseph Pang

JPF News Alert for NCUBB lanuch

-NEWS ALERT-

Public Cord Blood Bank Campaign Launch

Bay Area Births Rich Source of Life Saving Stem Cells


WHAT: Northern California Umbilical Cord Blood Bank Campaign Launch
WHO: San Francisco Supervisors, State, and City Officials
WHERE: SF City Hall, Front Steps
WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 15th, 1:00 pm


Citing the need for a way to collect and store potentially life saving umbilical cord stem blood cells, SF Supervisor Sean Elsbernd and other local politicians, doctors and officials of the Joanne Pang Foundation will officially lunch a fundraising campaign to raise $2.5 million. Funds raised will establish the public, non-profit Northern California Umbilical Cord Blood Bank in San Francisco .

“There is a critical need for increased capacity for public cord blood banking, and because of its ethnic diversity, the San Francisco Bay Area is an especially good place for this to happen," said Dr. Michael D. Amylon, Emeritus Professor, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.

Nearly 20 percent of all babies born in California each year are delivered in Northern California . The ethnic diversity of the region means that the Northern California Umbilical Cord Blood Bank units will a have a broad genetic mix which will benefit Asian, African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic patients of all ages.

Unlike bone marrow donor matching, collecting cord blood stem cells is non-invasive, easier to match to patients in need and non-controversial. In most births today, cord blood is disposed of after a baby is born. Once this cord blood bank is established, parents giving birth will have the option of donating this gift of life at no cost to them.


Media Contacts:
Joanne Pang Foundation
Scott Hildula, President
Email: scott@joannepang.org
Tel: (415) 786-3036

San Francisco Supervisor
Sean Elsbernd, District 7
Email: sean.elsbernd@sfgov.org
Phone: (415) 554-6516


Currently, our speakers will include:

Senator Carol Migden
SF Sup Sean Elsbernd
SF Public Health Director Mitch Katz
Jonathan Leong, Chairman of Asian American Donor Program

I hope you could help share this email with your friends and invite them to attend this press conference on November 15. If established, this public, nonprofit, world-class cord blood bank will help provide life-saving therapies to the communities in Northern California and around world for many decades to come.

Blessings,

Joseph Pang