Kai Quinonez, 8, in the hospital with a furry friend.
11:55am | Long Beach and Los Alamitos police and Long Beach Memorial have joined Keller Williams Realty in fundraising to help 8-year-old Kai Quinonez, who in October was diagnosed with severe Aplastic Anemia, a rare blood ailment that affects one in a million people.
Keller Williams Realty, which is active in representing sellers and buyers in Long Beach, in cooperation with the Los Alamitos Police Officers Association will be hosting a bone marrow drive with Be The Match, on March 26 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Be The Match is supplying the Bone Marrow Match Kits. Be The Match is a nonprofit organization that works to create opportunities for patients to receive the bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplants.
Long Beach Memorial is also hosting a blood drive in conjunction with the bone marrow drive. Personnel from the Long Beach Police Department (part of National Law Enforcement Cancer Support Foundation) will also lend a hand to help with the bone marrow drive.
“Officer Chris Karrer has been phenomenal in working with Be The Match and helping to get the bone marrow drive off the ground,” said Elaine Armogida, team leader at Keller Williams Realty in Los Alamitos, where Quinonez’ dad Gus is an agent. “We are also thankful for the help from Commander Josef Levy, from the Long Beach Police Department. He is the president of the foundation and has offered to help where needed.”
Agents at Keller Williams have been raffling off tickets for people to win an IPad and have the bone marrow drive. The Long Beach Post wrote about this in February.
Aplastic anemia is a condition where bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells. The condition involves both aplasia and anemia. Typically, anemia refers to low red blood cell counts, but aplastic anemia patients have lower counts of all three blood cell types: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, termed pancytopenia.
The boy is undergoing two six-month rounds of chemotherapy and weekly transfusions of blood and platelets.
For more information or to purchase a raffle ticket 562-626-8623. To reach officer Levy, e-mail him at [email protected]. To reach officer Karrer, e-mail at [email protected].
Kai Quinonez, 8, in the hospital.