Parents of Ailing Boy Appeal for Help

The parents of a 2-year-old Thousand Oaks boy with severe anemia are seeking donations and volunteers to help raise money for a lifesaving transplant.

Steven Koss is in guarded condition after being diagnosed in May with severe aplastic anemia. The condition, a critical shortage of red and white blood cells, has resulted in frequent high fevers and bruising during normal activity.

Steve’s parents, Shannon Smith and Scott Koss, do not have the $300,000 required for a bone marrow or stem cell transplant using blood from an umbilical cord, and related expenses.

They have turned to the Children’s Organ Transplant Assn. in Bloomington, Ind., to help raise funds for the operation at UCLA Medical Center.

The association, a charity dedicated to helping families and organizations raise money for individuals who would otherwise be denied a transplant for financial reasons, will hold a meeting Aug. 29 for those interested in volunteering for the fund-raising drive.

The organizational meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Elks Lodge, 158 Conejo School Road, Thousand Oaks.

Those unable to attend may volunteer by calling Sandy Modin at (909) 946-4991, or Jim Brown at (805) 498-0770.

Tax-deductible donations may be mailed to: COTA for Steven, Account No. 1450264468, Home Savings of America, 148 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360.

Donations also may be made at any Home Savings of America branch.