Bone Marrow Match Needed for Murrieta Boy

His ear-to-ear grin is contagious.

Ricky "Smiley" Martinez was a typical 8-year-old boy when he played last spring on the Yankees in the Murrieta Valley Pony Baseball League.

That was until August, when he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a very serious disease. The rare blood condition—which affects only three in every 1 million people— is also known as bone marrow disease. Having the disease means Ricky’s body does not make stem cells that make red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Ricky, who would have been in fourth grade at Monte Vista Elementary, instead spent two months in the hospital. He is home now but can not attend school or go in most public places because his immunities are very low, according to Ricky's father, Oscar Martinez.

Oscar, along with Ricky's mother, Cynthia, has stayed by his side.

"He is very fragile, we are just protecting him," Oscar said.

They've been told there is a 50-50 chance Ricky will survive the disease, the cause of which is 20 percent hereditary and 80 percent unknown, Oscar said.

Cynthia has taken an extended leave of absence from her job to care for her son and home school him. Oscar has continued to support his family, in between doing all he can to raise awareness of this disease, encouraging all to register as donors.

Ricky has made slow progress with medication, but is in need of new bone marrow, Oscar said, which could come from a matching donor though a minor surgical procedure.

Bone marrow produces all of the blood cells for the body; red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body, white blood cells help the body fight infection, and platelets help control bleeding.

Each blood cell lives only a certain number of days, so the body needs a steady supply, which healthy bone marrow can do. However, in aplastic anemia, the marrow makes a much smaller amount of the three types. For persons with severe or very severe aplastic anemia, infections or bleeding can be life-threatening.

In order for a match to be found, it has to be a 99-percent match. Oscar said doctors have told them a sibling would be an ideal match, however, Ricky is an only child.

"His match could be right here in our city and they don't know it," Oscar said. "They could be our miracle."

Craig Harrington, Ricky's baseball coach, has helped organize a bone marrow donor registration drive from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Murrieta Fire Station No. 4, 28155 Baxter Road, Murrieta.

"Our children are precious gifts and it is incumbent upon us to try and help a fellow parent, as we would ask others to do if we were in this situation," Harrington said.

"His nickname—Smiley—was appropriate because he always has a smile on his face, is a terrific athlete, and a fine young man."

The drive is being held in cooperation with the Be The Match Foundation. The donor registry is a simple procedure: it requires four cheek swabs and takes six minutes. Donors will then be entered into a database, and contacted if they are a match for Ricky or perhaps someone else in need.