With Time Running Out for Toddler, Murrieta Volunteers Sought to See if They Are a Bone Marrow Match

Dozens of volunteers turned out in Long Beach this week to help find a bone marrow donor for a 2-year-old Pasadena girl with leukemia-- and now it's Murrieta's turn.

Sofia Flores needs a marrow transplant to fight acute myeloid leukemia, but finding a match has been difficult because of her mixed ethnicity, according to her family. Sofia's heritage is Hispanic and Caucasian.

Sofia has about two more months left to find a donor match, according to Sara Arroyo, an outreach and recruitment coordinator for A3M, which tries to find bone marrow matches for difficult cases.

"That's the only time she has left," Arroyo said. "No other drug or medication is going to save her but a bone marrow transplant, so it is a very urgent thing."

The application and cheek swab only take about five minutes, and representatives from A3M will be at The Mill Restaurant in Murrieta on Saturday, March 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"We want as many people to register, so she has the best chance possible," Arroyo said.  

According to Arroyo, only about one out of every 540 people who register are ever called upon as a marrow match.

To donate, you must be between 18 and 44 years old and in general good health.

If you can't make the local event, you can also sign up for the donor registry online at:  join.bethematch.org/teamsofia

--City News Service contributed to this report.