Go Fund Me image of Martin Lintag. (GoFund Me)
Friends and family of Martin Lintag are hosting another stem cell drive this weekend
Richmond News
Friends and family of former Richmond resident Martin Lintag are hosting another stem cell drive this weekend in a bid to save his life.
Organizers are asking anyone aged 17 to 35 to come swab their cheeks Saturday or Sunday to see if they are a match for Lintag, who has leukemia.
Lintag, who grew up in Richmond, only has between three months to a year to live and urgently needs a stem cell transplant to survive.
The best chance of a match comes from people of the same ethnicity, but anyone can be a match.
Lintag’s family has already lost his only brother, Oscar. In response, Martin stamped Oscar’s memory into Richmond by organizing yearly sports tournaments with Richmond’s bowling community and Richmond Secondary School, to commemorate Oscar.
This weekend’s drive takes place Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 2 and 3 from noon to 6 p.m. at the Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Dr., Vancouver.
Even if you’re not a match for Lintag, you could be a match for someone else in the global registry. All that’s involved is a cheek swab.
If you’re a match, it’s usually just a simple process of filtering some of your blood, as most people don’t need to give bone marrow anymore.
As of 2015, Southeast Asians, including people of Filipino descent, form less than two per cent of Canada’s database, and Canada does not access donors registered in the Philippines.
For more information, go to Facebook.com/Match4MartinNow.
https://ca.gofundme.com/martinlintagsupportfund
Our dear friend and ultimate teammate, Martin “Marty” Lintag was recently diagnosed with two rare forms of blood cancer – Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
ALL is a cancer that originates from the early version of white blood cells (lymphocytes) in bone marrow. AML is also found in bone marrow, but develops in other types of blood cells. Since ALL and AML are both aggressive forms of leukemia, Marty will be undergoing immediate chemotherapy and radiation treatments, as well as a stem cell transplant.
As most of you know, Marty has been a long time member of the Black Huck Down ultimate team and the Vancouver ultimate community. In his own quiet and determined way, he is a talented teammate who is always encouraging and supportive, on and off the field. In addition to ultimate, Marty is also an amazing bowler! This is a guy who consistently bowls a perfect game. Marty, there is no way we are going to let leukemia strike you out!
The road to recovery will be long and challenging. For all the ways Marty has encouraged and supported us, we as a team, and as a community, are here to encourage and support Marty throughout the whole process. Over the coming weeks and months, Marty will be in the hospital receiving treatment. This GoFundMe page is set-up to not only help support Marty, but to also lend a helping hand to his family and girlfriend Lily while they provide him with frontline care. The funds collected here will go directly to Marty and his family to cover additional medical costs and other expenses so that he can focus solely on his health and recovery.
There are other ways we can help:
Sign-up to be a stem cell donor
As a part of Marty’s treatment, he will be undergoing a stem cell transplant and he will need to find a compatible stem cell donor. Fewer than 25 percent of patients who need stem cell transplants find a compatible donor in their own family. Please consider registering to be a OneMatch stem cell donor today: https://blood.ca/en/stem-cell/onematch-information-new-registrants
Make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada
http://www.llscanada.org/
Thank you for your generosity and support.
Sincerely,
Marty’s ulti fam