Bone marrow drives planned

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

Vicki Eto, seen here with her husband, Keenan, and children Zachary, 10, and Zoe, almost 7, has a serious medical disorder and needs a bone marrow transplant. Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser Bone marrow donor registration Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Ka'ahumanu Center, Kahului, Maui Jan. 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Finance Factors, 1164 Bishop St., fifth-floor training room Feb. 1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pearlridge Center 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 details, call the Hawai'i Bone Marrow Donor Registry at 547-6154, or toll-free (877) HI-DONOR (443-6667).

She kept it secret from most of her friends and family until after the holidays, when she was finally ready to tell her two children, Zachary, 10, and Zoe, who turns 7 on Saturday.

"Every time we talked about telling people, it was an acknowledgement that this is what I was diagnosed with," said Eto, 46. "It's one thing to hear it from the doctor, it's something else to hear yourself tell somebody else."

The Wailuku woman is suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome. Her bone marrow is not making enough red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the blood. In some cases, patients with the condition develop acute leukemia.

Eto works reviewing documents and gathering data in the tumor registry department at Maui Memorial Medical Center, where she had run across other cases of myelodysplastic syndrome.

"The upside is that you know what you're dealing with. The downside is that you know what you're dealing with," she said.

Eto was told that patients with her condition could expect to live an average of 3 1/2 years, even if they don't develop leukemia.

"It doesn't sound like very much when you think about your kids," she said.

Her friends and relatives have organized a bone marrow donor registration drive Sunday at Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului. Two other drives will be held on O'ahu, including one hosted by Finance Factors, the employer of Eto's husband, Keenan.

The donor drives could help a second Hawai'i resident. Chapi Akana of Hana-pepe, Kaua'i, has been looking for a donor match since he was diagnosed with acute leukemia in November 2001.

Akana, 25, is a single father with a 4-year-old daughter. His father, Kaipo Akana, has been working on Maui in connection with the ordnance cleanup of Kaho'olawe.

Family friend Debbie Nakamura said Chapi Akana has been undergoing experimental chemotherapy at The Queen's Medical Center and that his health is failing.

"We're hoping to buy time to find a donor," she said. "It's down to a miracle."

Two donor drives have been held on Kaua'i for Akana, and a third is being planned for Feb. 8, with details to be announced.

People who participate in the donor drives offer hope to Eto, Akana and others, said Roy Yonashiro of the Hawai'i Bone Marrow Donor Registry at St. Francis Medical Center.

"The more donors, the better chance of saving lives," he said. "A lot of these people lose hope. When you register, you're giving somebody hope."

About 65,000 people have registered with the Hawai'i Bone Marrow Donor Registry, but Asians and Pacific Islanders remain underrepresented.

Eto said going public with her medical problem has been difficult, but the support she's received from friends and strangers has been "overwhelming."

Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew, who was vacationing on Maui during the holidays, called after hearing about Eto. Carew's 18-year-old daughter died of leukemia in 1996 while awaiting a bone marrow transplant.

Carew volunteered to do radio announcements publicizing Sunday's event.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.