“Picture Perfect”
Director’s Commentary
I’ve always viewed life as a beautiful gift and a spectacular adventure – yet, when I reflect on my life, I find that it’s often the simple moments that I cherish the most – the water fight at the playground, the late night chat with friends, and the first time I held that special someone’s hand.
“Picture Perfect” was written as a tribute to those special moments. My hope is that people don’t see this film as simply a love story or a sad story, but rather they view “Picture Perfect” as a reminder that life is short and we need to appreciate each of life’s simple moments that we are blessed with.
We hope that “Picture Perfect” can raise awareness for Leukemia and encourage viewers to join the national bone marrow registry. Bone marrow registration is an issue that is very near to our heart as we’ve watched friends fight Leukemia and encounter challenges in finding a bone marrow match. We were moved to action and joined the registry ourselves.
And in 2011, I was contacted as a potential bone marrow match by the National Marrow Donor Program. Only then did it occur to me that through a simple act, we are actually able to save someone’s life. They didn’t end up needing my bone marrow, but I was compelled to bring this issue to light for others.
This is what I learned: Leukemia is a type of blood cancer which is characterized by an abnormal amount of immature white blood cells; this crowding prevents bone marrow from producing healthy blood cells. Many forms of Leukemia are treated by chemotherapy but in some cases a bone marrow transplant is necessary. Bone marrow matches often occur within the same race/ethnicity and while the likelihood of a white patient finding a donor is 80% but the chances for a minority patient is less than 30%. This is a devastating fact for those with Leukemia who need a bone marrow transplant and why it is particularly important for Asian Americans to join the bone marrow registry.
You can join the bone marrow registry by visiting: www.bethematch.org. It’s simple, painless and free.
Additionally you can help the cause by sharing this video with your friends and learning more at:
- Register: www.bethematch.org
- Learn more: www.cheekswab.com – Learn more about the need for minority bone marrow donors, donation process, and getting involved with the cause.
- Get involved: www.aadp.org & http://www.asianmarrow.org
jp love,
Jason
