Florida Boy Uses His Head to Help Patients

11-Year-Old Leukemia Patient Sells Ad Space on His Head to Support Donor Recruitment

He may have lost all his hair to chemotherapy, but one 11-year-old leukemia patient has turned his newest feature into an asset. Patrick Pedraja of Palm Harbor, Fla., is selling advertising space on his head in a series of auctions on eBay to help fund his dream: recruiting 2,007 donors to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry in 2007.

Patrick saw the difficulty some patients with similar life-threatening diseases face when searching for a matching donor. Wanting to help, he is launching a national donor drive, “One Child’s Dream. Driving for Donors.” This spring, after Patrick completes chemotherapy, he and his family will caravan across the nation to hold donor recruitment drives in more than 25 cities.

To help cover the cost of the drives, including a recreational vehicle for the family’s expedition from city to city and to help pay donor tissue typing expenses, Patrick has two additional advertising spots for sale. A San Diego-based telecommunications company already purchased one of the spots in an auction held at the end of November, adding $5,100 to Patrick’s donor drive fund.

"All that matters to me is if we give one person a second chance at life," Patrick said during a recent chemotherapy session. "Then ‘One Child’s Dream’ and my dream would be a success." Patrick was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in March of 2006 and will finish a year of chemotherapy in March 2007.

Currently, Patrick does not need a transplant, but more than 35,000 patients in the United States do. And a marrow or blood cell transplant could potentially give these patients a second chance at life. Such a transplant is possible only when the patient and donor have matching tissue types, but 70 percent of patients do not have a matching donor in their family. Patients are much more likely to find a match within their own racial group.

“I know how important it is to increase the diversity of the NMDP Registry, because I’m part Hispanic,” Patrick said. “There are other kids out there that do need a transplant and I want people to know that they could be the one to save a life.”

Learn more about:

• Joining the NMDP Registry
• “One Child’s Dream” -- www.drivingfordonors.com
• The NMDP’s work connecting patients with donors and the need for a diverse Registry