About MarrowLink
Why We Started
From middle school, I volunteered with IACAN, supporting South Asian families navigating blood cancers. Through this experience, I saw firsthand the emotional and systemic challenges families face—and one issue kept coming up again and again: the lack of matching donors.
The statistics are striking:
- South Asians represent only 3% of the national bone marrow registry
- South Asian patients have less than a 40% chance of finding a successful match
- White patients have about a 79% match rate
This means many South Asian patients may never find the donor they urgently need.
I began to understand that this isn’t just a medical issue—it’s a gap in awareness, outreach, and representation. Our genetics require closer ethnic matching, yet many communities remain underrepresented in donor registries.
That realization stayed with me. I started thinking about how I could use my skills in technology and communication to help bridge this gap—by raising awareness, improving outreach, and making information more accessible to the communities that need it most.
— Anvi Kodali
Meet the Team
Anvi Kodali
Founder & Director
South Asian healthcare advocate. ICAN volunteer (4 years). Passionate about addressing health equity in our community.
Anya Kodali
Community Partnerships Lead
Connects MarrowLink with temples, community centers, and cultural organizations.
[Volunteer Name]
Social Media Manager
Spreads awareness through Instagram, TikTok, and school networks.
[Volunteer Name]
Volunteer Coordinator
Trains and supports student volunteers at drives.
Our Mission
MarrowLink addresses the critical shortage of South Asian bone marrow donors by:
- Hosting community drives at temples, cultural centers, and college campuses where South Asian adults (18-40) gather
- Educating communities about bone marrow donation, genetic matching, and health equity in transplantation
- Removing barriers by conducting drives in culturally competent ways—in our languages, honoring our traditions, and addressing our specific concerns
- Building a pipeline of young, diverse South Asian donors for the future
We partner with Be The Match®, the national bone marrow registry, to ensure all registrations are official and add to the national database. Our work is to bring the registration process to you.