Florida Boy Named CNN Heroes Viewers' Choice Winner

12-year-old recognized for recruiting more than 5,000 volunteer marrow donors

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Florida boy who set out earlier
this year to add donors of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to the
National Marrow Donor Program(R) (NMDP) Registry was honored yesterday as the
CNN Heroes Viewers' Choice Winner.
Pat Pedraja, a 12-year-old leukemia patient from Palm Harbor, recruited
more than 5,000 donors to the NMDP Registry in just three months. On December
6, CNN recognized his extraordinary achievements at the "CNN Heroes: An
All-Star Tribute" -- a live global telecast that honored ordinary people doing
extraordinary things.
Over the past two months, viewers voted for their favorite CNN Heroes in
six categories: Championing Children, Community Crusader, Defending the
Planet, Fighting for Justice, Medical Marvel and Young Wonder. Pat's efforts
to recruit marrow donors helped advance him to the final round, where he
garnered the most votes among all viewers' choice finalists. CNN viewers in 93
countries nominated more than 7,000 heroes.
"I'm excited to be a CNN Hero, and am happy the award will help show the
world the importance of being a marrow donor. Marrow donors are heroes, too,
because they save people's lives," Pedraja said. "I want to keep recruiting
donors until everyone who needs a transplant can find a match."
Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Pat is undergoing
chemotherapy to treat his disease. Even though he did not need a marrow
transplant for his cancer treatment, when he learned minorities like himself
make up less than a third of the NMDP Registry and have a more difficult time
finding a match, he wanted to help.
Pat turned his hair-loss into an asset by leasing advertising space on his
head in a series of eBay auctions. He used the money to underwrite a
cross-country journey in a rented RV to recruit more minority donors. Under
the banner, "One Child's Dream: Driving for Donors," he and his family visited
30 cities in three months, raising $100,000 and recruiting more than 5,000
people to the NMDP Registry. Pat plans to tour again next summer. More
information about Pat and "Driving for Donors" can be found online at
www.drivingfordonors.com.
About the National Marrow Donor Program
The NMDP facilitates unrelated marrow and cord blood transplants as a
single point of access for a long-standing collaborative network of national
and international leading 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. Join online at www.marrow.org/join.
SOURCE National Marrow Donor Program

Catherine Claeys, +1-612-455-1719, cell, +1-651-983-4312, for National Marrow
Donor Program