Amid leukemia battle, LA dad's bone marrow transplant hindered by visa delays

LOS ANGELES - Just watching Arthur Yu spend quality time with his wife, Alice, and their 16-month-old son, Abel, it’s nearly impossible to tell, the 41-year-old Los Angeles husband and dad is fighting for his life.

Not long ago, Yu was a beacon of fitness. He supplemented his career in advertising with a personal trainer side gig.

"I felt immortal," said Yu.

But, Yu went from running the Los Angeles Marathon in 2022 to a diagnosis almost exactly a year later that would zap him of the life he was used to living. In March 2023, Yu was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare blood cancer. His best odds to beat it is receiving a bone marrow transplant.

Arthur Yu running the Los Angeles Marathon

"It was the most shocking news I've ever received in my whole life," said Yu.

His wife, Alice, is still having a hard time processing the news. 

"It was such a huge shock to think your husband could be dead in six months to five years," she said.

Yu has since undergone several rounds of chemotherapy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where Alice happens to be a nurse. As fate would have it, Yu found his bone marrow match thousands of miles away in the Philippines — in a cousin he had never met. But getting Noel Talania to America proved to be nearly as difficult as finding him.

The U.S. State Department denied Talania a travel visa twice.

Yu took to social media, where he campaigned for congressional help. His story went viral and was profiled on the FOX 11 News at 6 p.m. After elected officials, including California Sen. Alex Padilla, stepped in, Talania's visa was finally granted in late January.

On Saturday, we met Yu and his cousin at Yu’s Los Angeles home. Our meeting came just days after doctors harvested Talania’s stem cells for Yu’s upcoming — and hopefully life-saving — transplant, scheduled for March 21st.

Yu says he's "terrified" of it not working. The uncertainty is especially hard for Yu’s mother. 

"I always cry and pray all the time because I have only one child," said Aurelia Yu.

Yu’s fight is for his family. It's a fight he hopes inspires more people to become donors and a change in our often roadblocked, bureaucratic system.

"If you need a donor, I can attest visas are not straightforward until we get an emergency visa program," said Yu.

Until then, the Yus are grateful and praying for the best possible outcome.

"I’m hopeful, but I’m also scared to be hopeful," said Alice.

"I try to remember the success stories because those are the ones that give me hope," said Arthur.

For more information on becoming a bone marrow donor, you can find registration information at bethematch.org.