FULLERTON : Marrow Sought for Leukemia Victim

Hanh Truong is hoping that the students of his alma mater are generous with their blood and their wallets. They could save his life.

On Aug. 7, the Cal State Fullerton Foundation will hold a blood-testing drive on campus in an effort to find a compatible bone marrow donor for Truong, who suffers from acute lymphocytic leukemia, a form of cancer that attacks bone marrow cells.

Since his condition was diagnosed last November, Truong, 29, an immigrant who fled Vietnam in 1976, has been undergoing extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments at UCI Medical Center.

The chances of finding a bone marrow donor in a one’s family are about 1 in 5. Truong’s relatives were tested, but none was compatible.

Among non-family members, the chances plunge to 1 in 20,000.

Another obstacle is cost--blood tests are $75 each. To help pay for the tests at Cal State Fullerton, the foundation has planned a fund-raiser today at its offices on campus. Rams cheerleaders will sign autographs for $1 and muffins will be sold. The fund-raiser is co-sponsored by Truong’s employer, Hughes Aircraft, where he is a computer programmer, and Life-Savers Foundation, a Covina-based organization that works with the National Marrow Donor Program in St. Paul, Minn. The latter keeps a computer bank of 9,000 people in need of a marrow transplant.

“I’m extremely grateful for all the work the foundation is doing for me,” Truong said from his Santa Ana home. “I can’t tell you how moving it’s been to watch these people help me.”

The foundation learned of Truong’s condition through his wife, Michelle, who works there as a data entry clerk.

“Everything got started by just the conversations I had with my co-workers,” she said. “I was overwhelmed, as was my husband, at how much they are doing for us.”

Lara Briggs, spokeswoman for the foundation, said Truong needs the transplant as soon as possible. “It’s really a simple procedure,” she said. “And it can save someone’s life.”

Chuck Pruitt, donor requirement manager of Life-Savers, is optimistic. “It will be difficult, but it can be done, and it has been done,” he said.

The fund-raiser is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. More information is available from Life-Savers, (800) 950-1050, or the Cal State Fullerton Foundation, (714) 773-3415.