They are a picture perfect family. Birgit and David Anderson have two beautiful little boys, 4-year-old Kai and 2-year-old Toren.
Last year, their world came crashing down when David learned he had a rare and incurable form of cancer called mantle cell lymphoma. Then the unimaginable came. Last month, doctors told The Andersons that little Kai has a very rare form of Leukemia that won't respond to chemotherapy alone.
Kai's one chance at survival is a bone marrow transplant. "Our family was just coming to grips with my diagnosis when we learned about Kai's leukemia," Kai's father, David, said. "To know that my son was going to have to go through it, it was just crushing."
Finding a donor isn't easy. DKMS, the world's largest donor center teamed up with The Montessori School of Manhattan, where Kai is a student, to host a bone marrow drive in hopes he can find a match.
"Everyday, 6,000 patients are searching on the national registry for a donor, and only three out of 10 find a match," said DKMS co-founder Katharina Harf.
Hundreds turned out to be tested as a match for Kai. The process literally takes seconds; you just swab the sides of your cheeks and turn it over to be tested.
"They said there is a one in a million chance for this kid to get a donor, and if I can be that donor I want to be there for him," NYPD officer Michael Swisher said as he was swabbed.
If you want more information on future bone marrow drives or how to donate, go to www.hopeforkai.com.
