1.31.2007

help harrison find a donor

The latest edition of SFGate's "Pinoy Pod" is trying to get the word out about Harrison Leonardo, a 2-year-old boy from San Leandro, CA who is battling Acute Myloid Leukemia: No easy match for biracial Fil-Am toddler in dire need of bone marrow donor.

Like the headline says, the kid is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant, but the search for a donor hasn't been easy because of his mixed heritage. Harrison is half Filipino and half white and his donor will most likely share the same heritage. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, of the 6 million people now registered as donors, only 34,000 are Pinoy, and even fewer are biracial.

The podcast has an interview with Harrison's parents, who are trying to raise awareness about the lack of biracial donors on the national bone marrow registry. Listen to it here, and go here for more information: Help Harrison

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