URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Please forgive this extraordinary HKWMA notice, however, we are sure that you will appreciate the situation.  As an association, HKWMA aims to support its members, and sadly, a family member of a long-standing supporter and a past chairman of HKWMA, Ir Prof Daniel Cheng, is now in a very difficult situation, requiring all of our assistance and support. His only daughter, Ms. Serena Cheng, was unfortunately diagnosed with acute leukemia recently. We are sure that most of you know Serena very well at numerous other different occassions. She has been known as a very nice, professional and courteous young lady.

After completing 4 months of chemotherapy, Serena will require a compatible donor for stem cell transplant from a very simple blood transfusion (not a bone marrow transplant) to re-establish healthy bone marrow.

The entire Executive Committee would like to ask all HKWMA members to consider supporting Daniel, Serena and their family by registering at Red Cross as Stem Cell and Marrow donors. More registrations will boost the database and offer Serena and all other patients a higher chance of a match (which is merely 5000 to 1 now). Any healthy individual aged between 18 and 50 can visit any Red Cross Donor Centre (https://www.redcross.org.hk/en/site_info/contact_us/BTS.html) in-person to register as a Stem Cell and Bone Marrow donor, or opt in as a donor during your next blood donation. Currently, only a small percentage of blood donors indicate their willingness to donate stem cells; raising awareness of this option will not only help the potential of a match for Serena, but also for other patients in need.

The donor will only be notified by Red Cross if there is matching demand. Similar to blood donation, Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation is a simple and safe process taking only 3 ~ 4 hours, without the need for any anesthesia or hospitalization. Up to 250 ml of PBSC, or 3% of haematopoietic stem cells, will be collected during the process. The donor will be back to normal life immediately afterward. Details of the PBSC donation process can be found at https://www5.ha.org.hk/rcbts/stem-cell-donation.

For our good friends Daniel and Serena, and all for all other patients in need, we urge you to join this life-saving initiative and go to Red Cross to sign up for marrow and stem cell donation. Please feel free to spread this message to any of your family and friends.  If your kind donation does not match this recipient, then it may match another patient in need.

Many thanks for your consideration and support on this, and thank you for your understanding. Daniel has been helping us and the environmental industry at large for decades. Please join hands and help out our good friends in need.