Valley Children’s gets $15M anonymous donation

MADERA, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – An anonymous benefactor has given a $15 million donation to Valley Children’s Hospital, funds that staff say will significantly enhance the hospital’s ability to treat children with cancer.

According to the hospital, the donation will be used to significantly enhance their ability to provide the most advanced bone marrow transplant and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy treatments.

CAR T-cell therapy is described as a treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer and infections, getting the body’s own T-cells to destroy infected or cancerous cells. The new program will mean patients will not have to be referred to facilities in Los Angeles or the Bay Area for treatment, hospital officials say.

In response to the $15 million donation, CEO Todd Suntrapak said it will bring transformational cancer therapies directly to the children.

“Children who need these advanced therapies will no longer have to travel long distances and spend extended days away from home to get treatment,” Suntrapak said.

Hospital staff say the $15 million donation is one of the largest single donations in the hospital’s history. The donation was received on April 15 – less than a month after a pair of Fresno city councilmembers called for a state investigation into what they described as “excessive” salaries paid to both hospital CEO Todd Suntrapak and the wider board.

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