Hepatitis B causes 80% of all primary liver cancer cases, and is considered the greatest health disparity affecting the Asian/Pacific Islander demographic.   As many as 1 in 10 Asian Americans and 1 in 20 of all people worldwide are 

chronically infected with hepatitis B.  Nearly 1 million infected individuals die every year. Because of this, Hepatitis B awareness is an issue the Asian American community cannot afford to ignore.

Stanford Asian Liver Center (ALC) is one organization that is fighting to eradicate Hepatitis B and has been a long-time partner of the Chao Foundation. This evening, we're further showing our support of their mission, through the LIVERight Telethon. We have pledged $50,000 to the event, and will be offering up to $50,000 in match funds for every dollar donated. The telethon, which is being held at Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel, will be broadcast from 4:30-6:30pm on KTSF. Tune in to watch Mr. and Mrs. Chao present their generous donation and hear a brief interview with them. We look forward to supporting this important cause and to finding additional ways to help in the future.

We oversaw first and second rounds of HBV vaccinations in both urban and rural schools. We observed best practices of vaccination administration in all cases. The education program uses a top-down strategy to relay the necessary HBV information to the students. First, teaching seminars are held by local CDC officials for the school principals and health teachers. Second, health teachers use this information to teach the students. At the completion of this program, HBV will be integrated into Qinghai’s health education curriculum. We developed a handout for CDC officials and school principals and health teachers that explains the extent of the HBV problem in China and Qinghai Province; the goals of this program; basic information about HBV; and suggested tools for teaching children about HBV. We oversaw the production of educational posters for schools and calendars for the students to take home. We created a survey appropriate for elementary school-aged children. Four questions test the students’ knowledge of basic HBV information:

A. Where in the body does HBV attack? (Answer: Liver.)
B. How is HBV not transmitted? (Answer: Through food.)
C. How can you protect yourself from Hepatitis B for life? (Answer: Through vaccination.)
D. How many shots are there in the Hepatitis B vaccination? (Answer: 3.)