He is visiting Australia from Florida with his mother Claudine Andrews and brother Tucker Albrizzi to encourage people to be bone marrow donors.

In 2006, Pat was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and, after witnessing many friends with leukaemia die waiting for bone marrow transplants, he decided to do something about the shortage of donors in the US.

Driving for Donors was launched and his family spent three months driving across the country in their "Donormobile'' hosting donor drives in 45 American cities and adding more than 11,000 donors to the National Marrow Registry.

About 10,000 Australians are diagnosed each year with leukaemia - a cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow - or other fatal blood disorders.

Only one in three will find a match within their family while the rest rely on the donor registry.

Matches can be made from anywhere in the world as the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry is part of a worldwide network of donor registries.

There is a shortage of young, ethnically diverse bone marrow donors.

Pat doesn't need a bone marrow transplant, he just wants to "help people''.

"I decided I was not going to stand and watch people with leukaemia die because they can't find their marrow match,'' Pat said. Since the campaign launch, four life-saving matches have been found.

When he lost his hair through chemotherapy, Pat raised $5000 for his charity.

In the US, donors must pay $52 to register but in Australia it's free.

Potential donors must already be blood donors and aged between 18-40.

Pat will visit Europe to urge people to sign up to the registry especially non-Caucasians. He's also filming a television show about his quest and other "inspirational people doing good in the world''.

Although Pat still has a year of chemotherapy left, he said he was "doing good''.

"This is just what we cancer sufferers go through every day.''

Join the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry at any Red Cross Blood Service donor centre, or visit www.abmdr.org.au.

To support Pat Pedraja, visit www.drivingfordonors.com