Guam celebrates fight to save child
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
A 5-year-old Guam girl who lost her battle with cancer last year is being remembered this weekend on the island, one year after she inspired more than 3,400 people to sign up as potential bone marrow donors.
Her doctor, parents and many in the community gathered for the anniversary of the island territory's first bone marrow drive.
JUSTICE TAITAGUE
Justice Taitague died Feb. 9, just a week after nearly 5,000 people from Guam and elsewhere came forward to try to help the girl overcome non-Hodgkins lymphoma. After the bone marrow drive, 3,409 had registered. Parents Anthony and Lynn Taitague are constantly reminded of the tremendous outpouring of support.
They say people still stop them to talk about Justice and how her fight inspired them to reach out to others.
"I want the whole world to know what an island did for one child," Lynn Taitague said. "She's Guam's child; she belongs to everybody here."
Another person touched by the community support is Dr. Thomas Shieh, a former Hawai'i resident in private practice in Guam who treated Justice and helped arrange the drive coordinated by the Hawai'i Bone Marrow Donor Registry at St. Francis Medical Center.
"The drive was actually put together in less than a week," Shieh said. "It was a very significant event and very heartwarming."
• Feb. 8, Wal-Mart Kaua'i, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. • Feb. 14, Windward Mall, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Hawai'i Kai Shopping Center, 9 a.m. to noon. • Feb. 22, Pearlridge Center Uptown, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. • Feb. 29, Hope Chapel Manoa (at Mid-Pacific Institute), noon to 2 p.m. Candidates must be between 18 and 60 years old and in good health. A small sample of blood is drawn and sent to a laboratory for tissue typing. For information, call the Hawai'i Bone Marrow Donor Registry at 547-6154, or toll-free at (877) 443-6667.
People flew in from Hawai'i, Japan, California and Micronesia during the three-day drive, Shieh said. For an island with a population of about 130,000, he said, the response was amazing.
Hawai'i bone marrow drives
"They were turning out in droves," said Roy Yonashiro, donor recruitment coordinator for the marrow registry in Honolulu.
Yonashiro said the Guam drive had not yet resulted in a match, but some people had received calls to go through preliminary screening.
"It's important for people to know that no matter where they are, they could match someone," Yonashiro said, adding that it can take time to find a match. Since bone marrow frequently matches by ethnicity, the huge influx of Asian and Pacific Islanders offers hope to many, he said.
Since the Hawai'i registry began in 1989, about 170 people have donated bone marrow or stem cells through matches, Yonashiro said.
This weekend, Shieh and organizers are holding a health fair and "celebration of life" to promote free screenings for various diseases and tips for better living.
Yonashiro said the registry had traveled outside Hawai'i to conduct a big drive only one other time, in American Samoa in 1997, where it registered 1,915 people. Several marrow donations resulted.
Lynn and Anthony Taitague have become advocates for bone marrow drives.
"It's not for Justice anymore," Anthony said. "There's other kids behind Justice. It's a second chance for them that Justice never had."
Lynn said their daughter wanted to be a doctor "to help little girls like her who were sick." When her grandmother would gently tease the girl about her name, calling her "Justice of the peace," the girl would shoot back: "I am not Justice of the peace, I am Justice for all."
Her parents say Justice's story does offer hope through all those who signed up as potential donors.
"Other lives now could be saved," Lynn said. "We're carrying on the legacy."
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
