The Hong Kong Marrow Match Foundation is appealing to companies to sponsor donor recruitment drives to help save the lives of cancer patients such as Kailee. Each donor test costs $500, and thousands of donors are needed to find one suitable match for a patient. Further tests to check a marrow match could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, the foundation's vice-president, Brian Hawkins, said. However, the cash-strapped organisation announced on Tuesday that it could no longer afford to pay for large-scale recruitment drives. Dr Hawkins said the foundation was using its reserves to stay afloat and was hoping that donations from private companies would be able to fund donor drives, including one for Kailee. Individual donors can still sign up until the end of next month at the Red Cross blood donation centre at 442 Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, on Wednesdays from 11am to 7pm. 'It really depends on the next few weeks as to whether we could continue with the [Red Cross] donor clinics,' Dr Hawkins said. He said eight donors had signed up at the Red Cross Clinic in response to Kailee's plight. One Post reader donated $20,000 to the foundation to use to find a donor for Kailee. Potential sponsors can contact the foundation's hotline on 2819 0766. Donations can be deposited at the Hang Seng Bank account for the Marrow Match Foundation, 267-038222-001.
