LA bone marrow drive hopes to find match for ailing six-year-old

Feb. 1, 2010 | KPCC

Family members and public officials have launched a coordinated effort to find a compatible bone-marrow donor for a six-year-old battling leukemia.

Eduardo Morales-Pena was recently readmitted to the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California (LAC-USC) Medical Center after his condition worsened. Eduardo has battled Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia since he was two years old, officials said.

"We're hoping for a miracle at this point," said Rose Saca of the LAC-USC Medical Center. "If we don't find a compatible match for him in the very near future he will perish."

The blood and bone marrow drive takes place tomorrow from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Old Building General Auditorium at 2051 Marengo St., Los Angeles.

Saca said no matches have been found on the national bone marrow registry for Morales-Pena. Because patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity, officials want to emphasize the importance of Hispanics and people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to participate in tomorrow’s event.

"The number of Hispanics in the national bone marrow registry is very low compared to other ethnicities," Saca said.

County health officials also noted the blood and bone marrow drive could benefit thousands of other patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases by expanding the national registry of donors.

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