Learning From a Sad Event

(cross-posted at APA for Progress)

Several days ago, a much-loved blogger died of leukemia. This article was published shortly before she passed away.

From Yonhap News:
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- Ku Ji-hye celebrated her 25th birthday this week in bed at a Jerusalem hospital, continually fighting for her life with extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Ku has acute lymphocytic leukemia. If she does not receive a bone marrow transplant she will die, doctors say. There is not any member in her family, who has human leukocyte antigens, the components in blood that indicate marrow compatibility, suitable to hers. And it is because she is an adoptee.

I was very saddened at the news, and upset on her behalf.

As an Asian-American, hearing of her death spurred me to register as a bone marrow donor here. I encourage all others to do the same. There is a desperate need for more donors of minority and multiracial descent.

And as an adoption blogger, I want to use this "opportunity" to decry the culture of secrets and lies that so often surrounds adoption. Having the ability to contact her relatives would have meant a much better chance for survival, and this chance was denied to her. Adoptees should always have the right to know where they come from. Anyone who tries to deny them this right may end up with blood on their hands.