Young mother searches for miracle in Korean American community
ATLANTA - Julie Jung is a 35-year-old mother of two who needs a miracle, and her friends across the country are hoping to find her one this weekend.
A Korean-American US Navy veteran and pediatric dentist, Jung was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with an FLT3 mutation in January and needs a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible.
Without one, her doctors say, she will likely only survive a couple after her final round of chemotherapy, which is set to begin soon.
Jung's best chance for a suitable donor match is with someone who shares her ethnic background.
But, of the potential donors on the Be the Match bone marrow donor registry, only about 7 percent are of Asian descent, and people of Korean descent make up an even smaller subset of that 7 percent.
So Julie Jung's friends say they desperately need help from any Korean who shares her ancestry.
This weekend, Jung's friends have organized close to 30 bone marrow donor drives across the country, aimed at the Korean American community.
Several of those drives will be held in metro Atlanta on Sunday.
They include the following locations:
Korean Martyrs Catholic Church
11:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. Sunday, May 1
6003 Buford Highway NE
Doraville, Ga. 30340
Korean Church of Atlanta
9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 1
3205 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, Ga. 30096
Grace Community Presbyterian
5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 1
3671 Smithtown Road
Suwanee, Ga. 30024
Journey Church of Atlanta
Briarcliff Baptist Church
3:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 1
3039 Briarcliff Road NE
Atlanta, Ga. 30329
New Church of Atlanta
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 1
2845 Amwiler Road
Atlanta, GA 30360
Karis Church
12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, May 1
Discovery High School
1335 Old Norcross Road
Lawrenceville, Ga. 30046
4 Pointes Church of Atlanta
12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, May 1
1150 Hammond Drive #240
Dunwoody, Ga. 30346
Sugarloaf Baptist Church
12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 1
1664 Old Peachtree Road, NW
Suwanee, Ga. 30024
For a full list of bone marrow drive locations and information, go to donordriveforjulie.com.
If you cannot attend, sign up online to receive your swab kit: join.bethematch.org/fl or like Facebook.com/healingforJulieJung to stay posted on developments.