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Ten-Month-Old Los Angeles Twin Brothers Fight Fatal Disease to Save Their Lives

Posted on: Friday, 24 August 2007, 09:13 CDT

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- At ten months old, Keane and Ethan Denke are fighting an unimaginable battle against a fatal disease. Diagnosed with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), the identical twins are in search of one bone marrow donor to save both of their lives. With the help of DKMS, the world's largest marrow donor center, the goodwill of Coty Inc., and local donor drives, the Denke family holds fast to hope.

In February 2007, new parents Carrie and Xander Denke, admitted four month old Ethan to Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center (Tarzana, CA) with a distended abdomen and a fever of 103, only to receive the unbelievable news that their son had a fatal auto-immune disease HLH. The bad news did not stop there. As the majority of HLH cases in children under one years-old are genetic, this would mean that Ethan's identical twin brother Keane would get sick too. Keane's illness manifested itself in April.

The only cure for the boys is a bone marrow transplant - another person's healthy cells -giving Ethan and Keane a second chance at life. For six months now, the Denke's have been sharing their story in hopes of finding the one perfect match to save both of their sons' lives. As the twins undergo daily chemotherapy treatments, the family continues to suffer many hardships. Recently, Xander has had to cut back on hours at work, to help Carrie with the boys while the family incurs large out-of -pocket expenses, such as numerous hospital bills and expensive prescriptions costs.

Recently, the Denke family's financial woes were eased thanks to Coty Inc., the world's largest fragrance company. Coty Chief Executive Officer Bernd Beetz, presented the family with a monetary donation of $10,000 on August 24 to help off-set financial costs. Beetz learned of the Denke family through the Coty-DKMS: Linked Against Leukemia partnership. In L.A. for business, Beetz set aside time to visit with the family.

"It's the kindness of Coty Inc., the community and our endless hope to find a donor that keeps our family going through these hard times," says Xander Denke. "Coty's donation is just one example of the outpouring of support we have received that helps make each day a little easier."

"As a father myself, I was personally moved when I heard about Keane and Ethan and I immediately wanted to help the family through our Coty -DKMS initiative: Linked Against Leukemia," said Bernd Beetz, Coty Chief Executive Officer. "We hope with this donation the Denkes will have one less worry on their minds."

As the search for a donor continues for the Denke twins, a special donor drive will be held at Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City, CA on Sunday, August 26. Interested donors unable to make the drive can get a kit in the mail by calling 1-866-340-DKMS (3567) or sending an e-mail to info@dkmsamericas.org.

Donor Drive: SUNDAY, AUGUST 26, 2007 Time: 8:00am - 3:00pm Agape International Spiritual Center, 5700 Buckingham Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230. About DKMS

DKMS was founded in Germany in 1991 by Peter Harf and Professor Dr. Gerhard Ehninger, after Peter lost his wife, Mechtild, to acute leukemia. Since its inception, DKMS has recruited over 1.6 million donors making it the world's largest marrow donor center.

In 2005, Peter, together with his daughter, Katharina, furthered DKMS' mission, establishing an office in New York City.

Worldwide, DKMS' tireless efforts and unending commitment to its cause, has helped facilitate nearly 12,000 transplants.*

*Numbers as of July 2007.

DKMS

CONTACT: Beth Gautier of Fleishman-Hillard, +1-202-659-5888,elizabeth.gautier@fleishman.com, for DKMS

Web site: http://www.dkmsamericas.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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