Vision Of A Volunteer – Mika

Mika Yoshino, director, Service Strategy & Member Experience, Kaiser Permanente, wasn’t always a bone marrow donation champion. Learning that her niece’s schoolmate, Baylor, was diagnosed with Leukemia and in need of a bone marrow donor match planted the seed.

Mika

When Mika subsequently learned about the national shortage of bone marrow donors, especially for certain populations, she was hooked. Of the more than 10 million registered donors, 67 percent are Caucasian and the remaining 33 percent covers all other races and mixed races, including 7 percent African-American, 7 percent Asian, 10 percent Latino, and 4 percent for all mixed races.

“I realized that by tapping KP’s large and diverse workforce, we could make a difference! And I’m happy to say that since we launched our donor registration program, Will You Marrow Me, in October, more than 50 KP employees have registered and we’re striving to double that number by the end of the year.”  (2014 data)

Since she launched Will You Marrow Me, Mika has organized bone marrow registration drives in Pleasanton, Oakland, and Burbank, California. Additional drives are scheduled in Colorado and California.  Mika has registered 90 donors thus far. If this Volunteer inspires you to register, there is still time http://join.bethematch.org/Kaiser

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