Gianna Crosetti Bickson,
Honolulu, HI.
“Hapa” is the Hawaiian work for mixed and usually refers to someone of mixed race who is at least part Asian or Pacific Islander. My husband is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino & Japanese ancestry and my family is Italian, Russian English. This makes our kids “Hapa Haole”. While slang, the term is not derogatory, President Obama could be called Hapa Haole on his mom’s side.
The worst thing about being hapa is the challenge in finding a donor match if you need a transplant. Time Magazine quoted the rate of three out of four people will find a donor match if they are Caucasian. This goes down to 1/4 if you are a single minority ethnicity and shrinks even lower the more mixed race you are.
My beautiful hapa kids have very difficult odds if they ever face needing a marrow or organ transplant. For cultural reasons. Asians have very low rates of donation and small numbers in the data bases. I work in the surgical device industry and was aware of this. I banked my children’s umbilical cord blood for their use if the need should ever arise. I pay $200 annually for this service. I am glad I can pay it, but wish it wasn’t necessary
