One Child's Dream / Driving For Donors

One Child's Dream / Driving For Donors was started by 11 year old Leukemia patient Pat Pedraja. Pat found out that so many people with Leukemia and other blood disorders are dying becuase they can't find bone marrow donor matches in order to get a transplant. There is a critical need for donors (especially minority donors) on the National Marrow Registry and most people don't know how easy it is to join the Registry. Pat set out to raise awareness about the need for marrow donors and started a National Marrow Drive to add 2007 donors to the National Marrow Registry in 2007. Pat and his family drove across the country in an RV, to 32 different cities in 3 months and held marrow donor drives. There is a fee for tissue typing to add donors to the Registry so Pat raised over $140,000 by selling ad space on his bald (from Chemotherapy) head! Pat added over 5500 donors in 3 months and is continuing doing marrow drives, raising money and promoting awareness about the need for marrow donors. Pat is working with people all over the country who want to start Driving For Donor campaigns in their area. Pat is also presently working on starting a National Project called Driving For Donors:BE A HERO which will be used in schools and other organizations to get kids involved. The program will teach young people about blood disorders, the need for marrow donors and how kids can make a difference by donating THEIR time and/or own money to help someone else. During his Drive, Pat realized that he has the potential to inspire people to take action and now goes around the country speaking to groups about Making A Difference. He also created an organization and website called www.theplanetus.com to inspire people to make a difference in the world.