Patrick Pedraja is a young man on a mission!
The 13-year-old from Florida in the United States is travelling across Australia to encourage people to register on the Bone Marrow donors.
The 13-year-old from Florida in the United States is travelling across Australia to encourage people to register on the Bone Marrow donors.
After being diagnosed with leukemia in 2006, Pat watched other young patients die while they waited for a bone marrow transplant. He decided to take his message across the United States and encourage people to sign up on a bone marrow registry.
Pat and his family have driven across the United States twice in their special “Donormobile”, hosting donor drives in 45 American cities and adding over 10,000 new donors to the National Marrow Registry.
Now, Pat has gone international, and is sharing his message with Australians. On Tuesday, he had the chance to meet Sydney Swans players Brett Kirk and Jared Crouch, and have chat to them about their community involvement.
Along with his mother and his younger brother, Tucker, Pat attended the Swans training session on Tuesday afternoon, and eagerly learned some football basics from Crouch and Peter Everitt, before interviewing both Crouch and Kirk for a documentary about his journey.
Pat and his family have driven across the United States twice in their special “Donormobile”, hosting donor drives in 45 American cities and adding over 10,000 new donors to the National Marrow Registry.
Now, Pat has gone international, and is sharing his message with Australians. On Tuesday, he had the chance to meet Sydney Swans players Brett Kirk and Jared Crouch, and have chat to them about their community involvement.
Along with his mother and his younger brother, Tucker, Pat attended the Swans training session on Tuesday afternoon, and eagerly learned some football basics from Crouch and Peter Everitt, before interviewing both Crouch and Kirk for a documentary about his journey.
Pat hopes his visit to Australia will help raise awareness of the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and encourage people to sign up as a potential donor.
The Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry requires around 5,000 new donors to be registered each year. Donors must be aged between 18 and 40 at registration. By joining the ABMDR and volunteering to be a bone marrow or haemopoietic stem cells donor, you could save a life and offer someone the chance of a lifetime.
You can join the ABMDR at any Australian Red Cross Blood Service donor centre. Find out more details at www.abmdr.org.auOnce registered, the ABMDR will contact you if you are identified as a potential match for a patient.
