Urgent Request.
I'm reaching out to all my friends here on LJ on behalf of my Japanese professor and a friend of her family.



There's a young girl in Japan named Haruka-chan. Little Haruka-chan is only four years old, and is suffering from Restrictive Cardiomyopathy. That is, her heart has hardened and doesn't pump blood well. Without a heart transplant, there is a very real chance that Haruka-chan will die soon, possibly in the next few months.

save_haruka <-- Join the community!

She is in desperate need of a heart transplant, but unfortunately, the laws in Japan state that no one under the age of 15 can donate their organs, which means Haruka-chan is unable to get a heart in Japan. Her parents searched and found a hospital in the US, Loma Lind University Children's Hospital in California, that will do the heart transplant. However, because Haruka-chan is not a US citizen, her family cannot get health insurance to cover the procedure. They need to pay for it in full...

The total cost of the transplant is roughly $1,000,000.

Haruka-chan's parents are desperately seeking donations for their daugher's life. They have opened a website here that details their daughter's condition and explains how to donate. Unfortunately, it's entirely in Japanese, and I think most donations are through the mail (I have the address listed below). I'm talking to my professor about the family possibly opening a Paypal account to take donations online, but at the moment, it's mail only. The Paypal account has been opened! The link is below!

Please, please, please spread the word on your LJ's. It's senseless to let this girl die just because the family didn't have the money to pay for it. Haruka-chan is only 4 years old. She deserves so much more in life than the few short years she's had so far. There are millions of people on the internet... if everyone donated just one dollar, think of how fast they'd raise the money to save this girl's life.

It's not a scam, it's not a joke. This girl's doctor is friends with my professor. She's a living, breathing human being who needs help. Let's do our best to give her life.



If I get word of a PayPal account, I'll definitely post it here. WE HAVE THE PAYPAL ACCOUNT! Please go here! The link for the donation paypal account is at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, I'll get directions on how to mail money to the organization from my professor and post it here as well.

PLEASE send donations (money orders are best!) to the organization! Writing in Japanese is not necessary; the following address will work (you can of course find the Japanese address on the site). Don't bother getting the money transferred into Japanese yen! The family will only have to eventually change it all back into US dollars when they pay for the surgery in California!

Haruka-chan o sukuu kai
1-4196 Taniyama Chuo
Kagoshima, 891-0141
JAPAN


Phone: 81-99-260-0180
Fax: 81-99-260-0182


Leave a comment if you have any questions!


Please, everyone, please help save this girl's life.


UPDATE 4: Just an FYI that save_haruka was created. Please link the community instead of this LJ post! ALL the most up-to-date information will be posted there (because I kind of want to phase my personal journal out of this and make it a bit more "official." ^^;), and also all the imporant links are in the community's profile.

UPDATE 3: Wow, I didn't realize this post was getting so much attention around the internet. ^^; I'm so happy to see people are interested in helping out Haruka-chan.

I have good news; the Paypal account has been OPENED AND ACTIVATED. You can find the donation link for it here. Also, I'm so happy to announce that they've raised about half the money they need for the surgery! Please keep working to get the word out!

Also, you'll notice the main site has been updated. It seems that the family of the late Tago Renju donated money to the organization to help Haruka-chan. Renju-kun (born only on September 25th, 2005) was supposed to get a heart transplant in February of this year, but unfortunately he passed away on February 3rd, just weeks before his scheduled surgery. His parents have generously donated a large sum of money they had raised to save their son to help save Haruka-chan instead.

Finally, more of the site has been translated; you can read another message from Haruka-chan's mother here.

UPDATE 2: I want to thank Roger over at Tainted Reality for making an anouncement about Haruka's situation on his April 5th show. The links to both the Save Haruka organization's site as well as this LJ post were added to the links page on the official TR website. Hopefully this will help gather some more attention to Haruka's condition. ^0^

UPDATE: My professor passed on the following translation of some of the text on the site. This seems to be the most up-to-date information on the situation. I've reposted it here for you to read. It seems that if Haruka-chan doesn't get the heart transplant soon, she will also have to get a lung transplant (this is assuming she survives without a new heart). Please help...

Potential Contributors For Haruka Ishikawa's heart transplant surgery we ask for your kind cooperation. When Haruka Ishikawa (4) of Kagoshima prefecture in Kagoshima city entered Kagoshima Seikyo Hospital in December 2006 for treatment of pneumonia, she was shown to have a heart problem. Following closer examination this year in January at the National Center for Circulatory Disease, she was diagnosed as having "Restrictive Cardiomyopathy." After the diagnosis she was started on drug treatment, but the results were poor. Then in February, it was decided by the Japan Circulatory Institute she would need heart transplant surgery. As you know, within the country (Japan) there are no organ donations from children under 15 who are brain-dead, so our only option is to go abroad. The surgery will take place in America at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital. However, the surgery, transportation and hospital stay will cost an enormous 110 million yen ($934,000 USD). This amount of money is something Haruka's family and friends alone cannot possibly come up with. Also Haruka is already starting to suffer pulmonary hypertension and if the condition worsens she will not only need heart transplant surgery but lung transplant surgery as well. There is not a moment to lose. Haruka must receive her heart transplant surgery as quickly as possible. For Haruka's sake we please ask of everyone's kind support. March 30th, 2007 Haruka's mother

April 2nd. An update on Haruka's recent condition and greetings to all. One week has passed now since the fund raising activities have begun. Everyone's warm support has really filled me with so much gratitude. The encouraging words and letters received during the street fund raising have made me feel very happy. I would also like to recognize all the charity group members and many others whose support helped this campaign and the usage of this place to get started without hindrance. Well, March 30th was the day of our biweekly check up. The examination revealed no outstanding deterioration of her condition, and the need not to increase the amount of her current medications was a bit of a relief. However, her liver has become a bit more swollen than it used to be and the doctor showed a bit of concern. When it comes to examinations though there is one thing that bothers Haruka, and that is getting blood taken. Every time her blood is taken she cries so horribly. It's such a big problem that at times she has even gotten a nosebleed. However, for Haruka, blood extractions from now on are a certainty. It is becoming a big problem and not just us as parents, but the doctor has also become worried. On the days we go she always asks "Mommy am I gonna get a shot today?" (To Haruka, getting blood taken and shots are like the same thing). And whenever I tell her she doesn't have to, she is so, so happy. Since it is starting to get warmer I have wanted to take her out to the park, but in putting her condition first so that she doesn't get any worse, I've had to restrain myself. I know I must continue to be the one who ensures she stays as healthy as possible.