Young Leukemia Victim Faces Big Odds in Finding Matching Bone Marrow : Medicine: Blacks are most likely to have compatible tissue for African-American child, but few are in donor registry.

The family of an 8-year-old boy suffering from leukemia has asked the public, especially blacks, to volunteer and be tested as possible bone-marrow donors, a Children’s Hospital of Orange County spokeswoman said Saturday.

Cleavon Jones, 8, of Oceanside has been in the hospital since his condition was diagnosed as acute non-lymphocytic leukemia in May, said his doctor, Joel Weinthal.

“He had fever and he was complaining of his knees hurting, especially around the joints,” said the boy’s father, Keith Jones, 38, an ex-Marine who was stationed at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station from 1981 to 1987.

The boy’s doctors and his family are urging African-Americans to register as potential donors to improve the chances that a perfect match can be found.

Leukemia affects all races equally, said hospital spokeswoman Andrea Pronk. However, finding a potential bone-marrow donor is more complicated than matching blood types for transfusion, and the likelihood of finding a match is highest among people of similar ethnic backgrounds.

“If you were Japanese, your best chance of finding a match would be with someone of similar ancestry. If you’re Korean, the same thing would be true, and if you’re black, the same thing would be true as well,” Weinthal said. “Someone of another race could be a potential match, but it’s less likely.”

Though more than half a million people are in the national bone-marrow registry, there are few potential donors from members of minority groups.

“Only 3% are African-Americans,” said a worried Keith Jones. “That’s kind of slim, given that the doctors have told us the chances of a perfect match are one in a million.”

Added Weinthal: “Right now it’s fairly likely that if a Caucasian goes into the registry, he’ll find a match. For blacks, that’s not true.”

More than 16,000 children and adults are stricken each year with leukemia. For many, Pronk said, the only hope of survival is a marrow transplant from a donor.

For months now, Cleavon has been undergoing intensive chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells in his body, but the high dosage also limits his ability to produce healthy bone marrow, which is why he needs a transplant, Weinthal said.

“The best chance for his long-term survival and cure would be with a bone-marrow transplant,” the doctor explained. “If you wait a long time with any type of cancer, it’s fairly likely that the cancer might come back. It’s always more difficult to treat cancer the second time around than the first time around.”

Prospective donors will be asked to go to a donor center, such as the Red Cross, where a blood sample can be taken and tested.

Once a match is found, additional blood tests will be requested, Pronk said.

Extracting bone marrow is a minor surgical operation, involving insertion of a tube-like syringe that sucks up and extracts bone marrow from the pelvis, she said.

“The bone marrow naturally replenishes itself within a few weeks, depending on the individual,” Pronk said.

Those who are interested or want more information can call the National Marrow Donor Program at (800)654-1247.