Ian’s Friends Foundation, a foundation that funds projects for the advancement of pediatric brain tumor research, presented Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta with a check worth $360,000 prior to the Hawks’ game against the Heat Monday.
The donation will fund the Ian’s Friends Foundation pediatric brain tumor biorepository. According to the foundation, approximately 40,000 children are currently living with pediatric brain and spinal chord tumors, making brain tumors the seconds leading cause of childhood death in children under the age 20.
Said Phil Yagoda, Founder of Ian’s Friends Foundation, in a statement: “From years of trying to acquire brain tumor tissue samples, we identified a need to create and fund a pediatric brain tumor bioreposity to facilitate sharing - and hopefully collaboration - between medical institutions, universities and hospitals around the world. For the first time, these universities do not have to give up their intellectual property in order to obtain these samples. In identifying this need, we went to one of our greatest partners, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, who is ranked Top 3 in the country in brain tumor resections annually. Their knowledge and excellence in this space helps make Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta the perfect fit and answer to helping US and our mission of furthering pediatric brain tumor research going forward.”
