Family asking for help with bone marrow donor for 7-year-old fighting cancer

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A seven-year-old from Coalinga has been battling leukemia for four years, and desperately needs a bone marrow donor after a transplant with his brother's bone marrow didn't take.

Bryan Benitez is currently receiving treatment at Lucille Packard Stanford Children's hospital in Palo Alto. He was first diagnosed with cancer at just three years old.

Since then, he's overcome severe reactions to chemotherapy, side effects from transplants and several cycles of immunotherapy.

After going through remission twice, he is battling a more aggressive cancer.

Bryan tells Action News he's ready to travel the world once he beats cancer for a third time.

"They need to have a donor waiting because if he's in remission with this treatment, he only has a few months before he's going to relapse," says Maria Benitez, Bryan's mom. "Too risky to do a bone marrow without him in remission."

"I hope to be cured, play outside, New York, I want to see the Statue of Liberty, Legoland, and Paris," Bryan said.

Bryan's family will hold a bone marrow drive on Tuesday, February 18th.

It will be held at the Coalinga High School from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

If you cannot attend the event, you can also register by mail here.

To be a donor, you must be between the ages of 18 and 44 years old.

The family has also set up a GoFundMe if you would like to donate.