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He actually brings a point I've been wondering since the entire thing started: Why is he somehow more "important" than all the other people on the bone marrow t

He actually brings a point I've been wondering since the entire thing started: Why is he somehow more "important" than all the other people on the bone marrow transplant list? Downvote me to oblivion if necessary, but this really is a genuine question which, by the looks of things, has the answer of: His life is more important than everyone else on the transplant list.

_delirium 15y ago
Ingroup + prominence I'd guess, as in many communities. For example, if a well-known punk-rock guitarist had a similar issue, he'd probably get similar exposure in that community (more than someone not from that community, and more than a "mere" fan who wasn't a prominent guitarist).
SandB0x 15y ago
> Downvote me to oblivion if necessary Don't do this. Please read: http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html ("Please don't bait other users by inviting them to downmod you.") To answer your question, nobody is suggesting his life is more important. In fact, as is mentioned towards the end of the article, by getting more people registered through this relatively high profile campaign he is increasing the chances of finding a match for others in need of a bone marrow transplant.
synnik 15y ago
When I first saw his headlines a while back, I had the same question... But there is a very reasonable answer - he is bringing to light a gap in the availability of bone marrow for his particular ethnicity. It is not that he is personally more important than anyone else... it is that he, and others like him, are under-served. Using his connections to raise this issue not only helps him, but should help anyone in his same situation.
goatcurious 15y ago
his life is as important as any other - however, he has done an invaluable service to the entire south asian community by taking on the issue of bringing more to the bone marrow registry. From any account, the campaign has been a revelation. He deserves to find a match, and live many more terrific years. So do others. But I'll be extra happy if he does too.
ineedtosleep 15y ago
In reply to _delirium: Right. I guess the thing that bothers me about the entire thing is that this is done at such a bigger scale than other similar requests, especially from the past. Requesting help from a small group, like family is one thing, but requesting help from the internet doesn't settle right for some reason.
- jstn 15y ago
  If you were facing death and your best hope at survival was crowdsourcing help on the internet you'd... what, politely decline to bother anyone in the internet community you've been a major part of? Skip the chance to raise awareness for something that could save the lives of many others besides yourself? Die alone knowing you saved someone half a second reading an HN headline that wasn't directly relevant to them?
- mikeash 15y ago
  The help they requested will go to help an entire ethnic group of people, not just one person. This effectively a massive charity operation using an individual story as a hook. I don't understand how anyone could possibly criticize this as being selfish.
sbashyal 15y ago
There are a couple of reasons this case is different in a way relevant to HN community: 1. Amit's friends have been using current technology to campaign for the cause (e.g.: https://twitter.com https://twitter.com /#!/search?q=%23ISwabbedForAmit) and this news proves the success of the campaign 2. Amit himself is a Hacker. He is one of us! Many people die each year, we don't discuss all of them like we discussed Steve Jobs. 3. He is helping build the database for future transplants
oz 15y ago
"Why is he somehow more "important" than all the other people on the bone marrow transplant list?" He is not more important in an objective sense. Most people would agree in an abstract sense that all lives are equally valuable, but would readily save their child rather than another if it came down to it. Why? Because they value the life of their child more than the life of another's child, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Amit, as a member of the startup community, is our child, as it were. Due to this commonality, we feel closer to him than 'faceless' people on the list. So your last sentence might read: "His life is more important than everyone else on the transplant list to us."
- daenz 15y ago
  Anyone else see the irony of a community fighting to save a person's life, while ignoring all the other "faceless" sufferers, when the life that they're fighting for probably depends on the good will of a "faceless", anonymous person? Serious question.
  - nyellin 15y ago
    By getting tested you increase the chances that everyone finds a match, not just Amit.
  - homosaur 15y ago
    I'm not sure you know what "irony" means.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - daenz 15y ago
      Sad time when HN doesn't downvote your non-contributing comment out of spite for my comment.
  - 15y ago
tlrobinson 15y ago
In addition to the other answers, raising awareness and getting people to sign up to be bone marrow donors can potentially help a lot more people than just Amit.
blhack 15y ago
He isn't, it just so happens that he is a member of our community. I'd bet that your friends, family, and coworkers take a bit of an interest in your personal life. Amit's friends and coworkers just happen to be a very very large group.
bermanoid 15y ago
Why is he somehow more "important" than all the other people on the bone marrow transplant list? Does it matter? His situation is bringing attention to this, and getting more people to add themselves to the registry. Whether or not he is personally saved, it's likely that several other matches will be made as a result, so I'd say it's a good thing overall. By my understanding, this isn't a matter of supply and demand, or him trying to "jump the line" by making a direct appeal to people - it's a matter of sheer volume, it's relatively difficult to find donors for anyone that match well, so having more people in the system is a good thing for everyone.

_delirium 15y ago

Ingroup + prominence I'd guess, as in many communities. For example, if a well-known punk-rock guitarist had a similar issue, he'd probably get similar exposure in that community (more than someone not from that community, and more than a "mere" fan who wasn't a prominent guitarist).

SandB0x 15y ago

> Downvote me to oblivion if necessary Don't do this. Please read: http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html ("Please don't bait other users by inviting them to downmod you.") To answer your question, nobody is suggesting his life is more important. In fact, as is mentioned towards the end of the article, by getting more people registered through this relatively high profile campaign he is increasing the chances of finding a match for others in need of a bone marrow transplant.

synnik 15y ago

When I first saw his headlines a while back, I had the same question... But there is a very reasonable answer - he is bringing to light a gap in the availability of bone marrow for his particular ethnicity. It is not that he is personally more important than anyone else... it is that he, and others like him, are under-served. Using his connections to raise this issue not only helps him, but should help anyone in his same situation.

goatcurious 15y ago

his life is as important as any other - however, he has done an invaluable service to the entire south asian community by taking on the issue of bringing more to the bone marrow registry. From any account, the campaign has been a revelation. He deserves to find a match, and live many more terrific years. So do others. But I'll be extra happy if he does too.

ineedtosleep 15y ago

In reply to _delirium: Right. I guess the thing that bothers me about the entire thing is that this is done at such a bigger scale than other similar requests, especially from the past. Requesting help from a small group, like family is one thing, but requesting help from the internet doesn't settle right for some reason.

jstn 15y ago
If you were facing death and your best hope at survival was crowdsourcing help on the internet you'd... what, politely decline to bother anyone in the internet community you've been a major part of? Skip the chance to raise awareness for something that could save the lives of many others besides yourself? Die alone knowing you saved someone half a second reading an HN headline that wasn't directly relevant to them?
mikeash 15y ago
The help they requested will go to help an entire ethnic group of people, not just one person. This effectively a massive charity operation using an individual story as a hook. I don't understand how anyone could possibly criticize this as being selfish.

sbashyal 15y ago

There are a couple of reasons this case is different in a way relevant to HN community: 1. Amit's friends have been using current technology to campaign for the cause (e.g.: https://twitter.com https://twitter.com /#!/search?q=%23ISwabbedForAmit) and this news proves the success of the campaign 2. Amit himself is a Hacker. He is one of us! Many people die each year, we don't discuss all of them like we discussed Steve Jobs. 3. He is helping build the database for future transplants

oz 15y ago

"Why is he somehow more "important" than all the other people on the bone marrow transplant list?" He is not more important in an objective sense. Most people would agree in an abstract sense that all lives are equally valuable, but would readily save their child rather than another if it came down to it. Why? Because they value the life of their child more than the life of another's child, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Amit, as a member of the startup community, is our child, as it were. Due to this commonality, we feel closer to him than 'faceless' people on the list. So your last sentence might read: "His life is more important than everyone else on the transplant list to us."

daenz 15y ago
Anyone else see the irony of a community fighting to save a person's life, while ignoring all the other "faceless" sufferers, when the life that they're fighting for probably depends on the good will of a "faceless", anonymous person? Serious question.
- nyellin 15y ago
  By getting tested you increase the chances that everyone finds a match, not just Amit.
- homosaur 15y ago
  I'm not sure you know what "irony" means.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - daenz 15y ago
    Sad time when HN doesn't downvote your non-contributing comment out of spite for my comment.
- 15y ago

tlrobinson 15y ago

In addition to the other answers, raising awareness and getting people to sign up to be bone marrow donors can potentially help a lot more people than just Amit.

blhack 15y ago

He isn't, it just so happens that he is a member of our community. I'd bet that your friends, family, and coworkers take a bit of an interest in your personal life. Amit's friends and coworkers just happen to be a very very large group.

bermanoid 15y ago

Why is he somehow more "important" than all the other people on the bone marrow transplant list? Does it matter? His situation is bringing attention to this, and getting more people to add themselves to the registry. Whether or not he is personally saved, it's likely that several other matches will be made as a result, so I'd say it's a good thing overall. By my understanding, this isn't a matter of supply and demand, or him trying to "jump the line" by making a direct appeal to people - it's a matter of sheer volume, it's relatively difficult to find donors for anyone that match well, so having more people in the system is a good thing for everyone.