"Driving" Cancer Away with Delta Epsilon Psi at Rutgers University
A positive impact in the world, always starts with a small change in our community. On Wednesday September 21 2011, the men of Delta Epsilon Psi displayed their commitment to helping the community at the signature Bone Marrow Drive in Busch Campus at Rutgers University. With unconditional assistance from the sisters of the Omicron Colony of Kappa Phi Gamma, the brothers of Kappa Chapter helped register over 66 new donors in the National Bone Marrow Registry. Anand is the brother-in-law of a Delta Epsilon Psi brother from Theta Chapter. A couple of months ago, Anand was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocyte Leukemia, commonly known as ALL. ALL is one of the most malignant and rarest forms of blood cancers, and his condition required an urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. Anand is an accomplished physician who dedicated his life to helping others retaining the gift of life. Now his life is at test, and though his strength and courage are evident, help from the South Asian community is vital. His diagnosis caught his family, friends, and colleagues by surprise. But perhaps the most touching part of the story is his three children, who barely began to live life, now having to deal with this calamity. His never ending help to those around him serves as the impetus for Delta Epsilon Psi to assist the National Bone Marrow Drive in garnering as many donors as possible. Anand's odds of surviving increase when bone marrow matches are made, and the only way that can even happen is if more donors register themselves to the National Bone Marrow Registry. Delta Epsilon Psi took the matter into their own hands, and made evident the sincerity of the cause. Representatives from the National Bone Marrow Registry were extremely surprised at the large turnout. One representative commented, "The most humble of all donors are our very own college students. Despite their entire life ahead of them, these young individuals really elicit the empathy a human is capable of having when another human life is at stake by taking on a huge responsibility like this." When a person is registered in the National Bone Marrow Registry, they are eligible to donate bone marrow till the age of 62. Jigesh Patel, president of Kappa Chapter, was proud of the fact that his chapter was able to look at this event not as a service event, but rather as a necessity. He stated "It was a great feeling for me. I cannot believe how loyal our chapter is to helping our community especially during school time where other responsibilities make it tough." The Bone Marrow drive is a signature service event for Delta Epsilon Psi, but for Kappa Chapter it was more than just a mandatory event. A year ago, there was a 5k walk held for Jaynish Patel, a member of the Beta Class of Kappa Chapter. Jaynish was diagnosed with cancer as well, but with the support of family, friends, and his very own Kappa Brothers he fought a valiant battle and is now back in school. Kappa Chapter was exposed to assisting an individual whose life was threatened once, which is why the Bone Marrow Drive much more personal. Being good is commendable, but only when it is combined with doing good is it useful. And that is exactly what Kappa Chapter exemplified. --
Karan Parikh
Kappa Chapter
