Kevin, 13, and Tuan, 14, are eligible for a transplant now and Anthony, 11, could benefit later, Wada said.

Wada explains that a transplant of stem cells — donated by adult volunteers through one of two different procedures — can save their lives by removing their defective immune systems and replacing them with marrow or stem cells that work.

While bone marrow transplants are more widely known, another technique called PBSC, for peripheral blood stem cell donation, has been available in Hawai'i for the past six years, Wada said. It allows the donation of life-saving stem cells through an office visit similar to a long blood donation, he said.

"They're in a race," Wada said. "This whole thing has really swept up this family like a big wave." Because there was no donor match found in their family, the boys need the help of strangers to survive the rare illness.

Originally from Vietnam, Lani Nguyen, 36, moved to Hawai'i 12 years ago to be closer to her father. She has three sons and one daughter, 8-year-old Natalie. The children are bright, loving and hopeful that a transplant can give them a chance for a normal life.

Tuan, a freshman at McKinley High School, likes to break dance, watch action movies and hang out with his friends. In school, he likes Junior ROTC. He's looking forward to his 15th birthday next month, Oct. 2. "My friends call me Tuna," he said.

He has the brash energy of a teenaged boy, bouncing into the room. He and his friends have a dance group that goes by BWS for "Breakers With Style." He'd like to be a doctor. Or sometimes an ice cream man, or maybe a doctor who gives away ice cream on Sundays.

Brother Kevin is more low-key. His favorite subject in school is math. He likes to play computer games and watch TV. He hopes a transplant will give him the chance to play soccer.

The effects of the disease are most obvious for Kevin. He has had an enlarged spleen and suffered liver damage. A seventh-grader at Kawananakoa Middle School, he weighs 57 pounds.

His short-term goal is to get better. Long-term? "I want to be a chef," he says with a big smile.

Their apartment at Kukui Gardens is filled with bicycles, homework and family photos. They bicker like all siblings but show pride in each other and their single mother, helping them cope with the overwhelming disease. "It's a great family," Tuan says with conviction.

All of the boys bruise easily, take longer to fight off colds and have to stay away from most contact sports because of the risk of injury. They visit the doctor at least weekly and take several medications every day.

As the eldest, Tuan is keenly aware of the disease. He hopes the transplant will make them stronger. "I want to learn how to swim. I go to the beach a lot, but I don't know how to swim."

Since learning more about the disease, Lani Nguyen has signed up as a potential donor. She knows what it's like to have a doctor shake his head over the long-term survival chances of a child. "I pray every day," she said.

And she's faced critical times. Like in 1998 in Louisiana, when Kevin was hospitalized for two months. Or when Tuan had a fever for two weeks and had to be taken by ambulance to Kapi'olani Medical Center.

Anthony, 11, also is in seventh grade at Kawananakoa, and wants to join the military when he grows up.

The boys are among about two to three dozen patients in Hawai'i each year who are looking for a transplant. About 3,000 across the country are seeking a match, Wada said.

"Without a stem cell transplant, these boys will be left without a means to overcome the infections that they presently suffer from," he said. "Eventually, the cumulative effects will be too much for them to handle."

Wada said Hawai'i's strong sense of community helps make the state's donor registry especially effective because "so many people feel a part of each other's welfare."

"The Hawai'i registry has one of the best records in the country for volunteers who remain committed to being donors. It's a credit to the people who live in Hawai'i."

Wada said dozens of people's lives have been saved by the thousands who signed up during the Alana Dung drives. Tuan is counting on finding helpers out there.

"We hope we'll find a donor so we're going to make it," Tuan said. Then he stopped and started again, his voice stronger: "We ARE going to make it."

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.