NextSharkNextShark.com
Latest Newsletter🍵 Kelly Marie Tran in racism studyRead

Article

U.S. Government Finally Lets Vietnamese Stem Cell Donor Save Dying Sister from Cancer

    Asian America Daily - in under 5 minutes

    Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories, to your inbox daily, for free!

    Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive

    After months of trying to persuade the U.S. government, officials finally approved the entry of a Vietnamese stem cell donor who could potentially save the life of a dying mother from cancer in Orange County, California.

    Thuy Nguyen, Helen Huynh’s sister and the only person who is a 100% donor match, has been granted humanitarian parole entry to the U.S. that will last for 180 days.

    Nguyen, 61, was first diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukemia on Feb. 14, 2017, and the best way to save her is through stem-cell therapy. See this great post to read to learn more about stem-cell threapy.

    Image via GoFundMe

    This is an incredible moment–to know that Helen’s sister Thuy Nguyen will soon be here in America, and even more important that Helen will soon be getting the stem cell treatment that she so desperately needs,” Congressman Alan Lowenthal said in a statement on Wednesday (Sept. 27, 2017).

    Nguyen’s case made headlines weeks before the announcement when Thuy was barred by the U.S. government from entering the country despite the help of three other hospitals. She was also willing to leave everything behind in Vietnam, including her 5-year-old child.

    I want to thank U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius and the State Department for their efforts to respond to our concerns and to the urgency of this humanitarian crisis. I also want to thank Ambassador Osius and his staff for their commitment to work with us to get Thuy to Helen as quickly as possible,” Congressman Lowenthal added.

    I also want to express my deep gratitude to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service for expediting the humanitarian parole process for Thuy and for granting the approval. They understood from the beginning the dire humanitarian need in this case, and they followed through with quick action,” the Representative for California’s 47th Congressional District continued in his statement.

    Perhaps most importantly, I want to thank the Huynh family, whose faith and determination in a positive outcome never wavered.” 

    Photo via Twitter / @ABC7JulieSone

    Now that we know Helen, with the help of Thuy, will receive the treatment she needs, we should all take a moment and offer our best thoughts and prayers for Helen,” the congressman said.

    Lowenthal concluded his statement by thanking several colleagues, including: “Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13) and Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Congressmen Lou Correa (CA-46), Eliot Engel (NY-16), Ro Khanna (CA-17), and Ted Lieu (CA-33), and California Senator Kamala Harris.”

    Featured Image via GoFundMe

    Support our Journalism with a Contribution

    Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.

    Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.

    However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.

    We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way.  Thank you for everyone's support. We love you all and can't appreciate you guys enough.

    Support NextShark

    Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover, Paypal