With Mackenzie's passing, Naudia and Linkin were left asking what can we do for our friends who have passed and for those who are still battling? Then they learned as part of Mackenzie's wishes, her tissue was donated to the Gift from a Child (GFAC) network.
Naudia and Linkin along with their friend Daxton, saw an opportunity to follow her with a $5,000 donation to the GFAC network that contributes to the Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN).
Research gives us the ability to learn more about this disease and can offer opportunities to find ways to kill it, maybe one day for good. The GFAC is a national initiative that raises education and advocacy for end of life pediatric brain tumor donations. Her tissue was sent to Lurie Children's in Chicago. Lurie's is part of the Children's Brain Tumor Network (CBTN). This network is a collaborative, multi-institutional research program that strictly focuses on pediatric brain tumors. This collaborative effort helps researchers across the country look at tissue and try to find ways cures. This program roughly costs over a half million dollar a year to run. The donation from Naudia, Linkin, and Daxton will help to offset that cost. While we know that pediatric brain cancer is all to common in children, we hope by donating that more people will learn about all the ways researchers and scientists are trying to battle this disease. We will continue to fight, just like our friend Mackenzie did.
There are 10 primary hospitals in the United States that belong to the CBTN:
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Children's National Hospital
John Hopkin's Medicine
Seattle Children's Hospital
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Weill Cornell Medicine
Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Lagone
These hospitals will receive Mackenzie's tissue and work on dissecting it so they can continue to try to find cures. If you would like to learn more about a Gift from a Child or the Children's Brain Tumor Network or donate, please visit: giftfromachild.org and cbtn.org.