News Release May 03, 2007

Boy Brings Hope to Cancer Patients
Driving for Donors Comes to Denver

Contact:
Julie Scott
303.361.2873
Bonfils Blood Center

DENVER (May 03, 2007) –Recovering from a battle with leukemia, a 12-year-old boy strives to bring hope to blood cancer patients around the nation. Driving for Donors/One Child’s Dream is a national bone marrow drive to rally the public through collecting donations and raising awareness.

Monday, June 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Driving for Donors will visit Denver’s Skyline Park located at 16th and Arapahoe Streets. The local event is organized by Bonfils Blood Center’s Colorado Marrow Donor Program and sponsored locally by Rocky Mountain Cancer Center and Presbyterian / St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Pat Pedraja was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2006 after what he describes as “a long, painful year of suffering.” When undergoing intense chemotherapy treatments three times a week, his hair fell out and he was unable to walk on his own. Pat still has another two and a half years of maintenance therapy.

Pat and his family are touring the country in a special “Donormobile,” stopping at 30 major cities to hold marrow donor recruitment drives. Pat’s goal is to add 5,000 new donors to the National Marrow Donor Registry. The drive partners nationally with the National Marrow Donor Program, The Marrow Foundation and law enforcement around the country. This is the first ever National Law Enforcement Donor Drive!

To raise money for this trip, Pat, recently bald from chemotherapy treatments, used his head as a billboard for advertisements. Rocky Mountain Cancer Center’s and Presbyterian / St. Luke’s Medical Center’s logos will be displayed on Pat’s head when he visits Denver.

People interested in supporting Pat Pedraja and his Driving for Donors event are invited to join the Registry free of charge. The registration process involves completing a health history and consent form and collecting a sample of cells using a cheek swabbing technique for initial testing.

"I want people to know that they could save a life," Pat said. "They could save the life of a kid like me, just by signing up. If they could do that, they could make hope for everybody out there. There's always hope."

About Bonfils Blood Center
Bonfils Blood Center supplies blood to more than 200 hospitals and healthcare facilities and needs to collect 4,350 blood donations weekly to meet the needs of the community and to be prepared for any unexpected events. For information about scheduling a blood donation, please visit www.bonfils.org or call (303) 363-2300.

About Driving for Donors/One Child’s Dream
Driving for Donors/One Child’s Dream is a nationwide marrow donor recruitment campaign organized by 12-year-old Pat Pedraja. Pat and his family will travel to 30 major metropolitan cities across the U.S. in hopes of adding 5,000 new donors to the National Marrow Donor Registry. For more information please visit www.drivingfordonors.com.

About the National Marrow Donor Program
The NMDP facilitates unrelated marrow and blood cell transplants as a single point of access for a long-standing collaborative network of leading national and international medical facilities in marrow and cord blood transplantation. The NMDP connects patients, doctors, donors and researchers to the resources they need to help more people live longer and healthier lives. For more information call 1-800-MARROW-2 or visit www.marrow.org.