Blood Drive for Life | Sacramento kid overcomes rare leukemia twice

Ojas Ranade is your typical talented seventh grader, but what he has experienced so far in his young life is anything but typical. Ranade, from Sacramento, has faced and overcome the rare and aggressive juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) twice, thanks in part to the generosity of bone marrow and blood donors.KCRA 3 has teamed up with Vitalant for our annual Blood Drive for Life. The 2026 blood drive takes place from Jan. 7-10 across two locations in Rocklin and Sacramento. Help save a life by making an appointment at vitalant.org/kcra. “I have leukemia blood cancer,” Ojas said, reflecting on his journey that began when he was diagnosed at just 6 months old. His mother Raj Ranade describes the cancer as a very rare and aggressive leukemia that “happens to one in a million.” The only treatment is a bone marrow transplant, she said.Initially, finding a suitable donor was a daunting task. “So what we were told is it might take six months, it might take a year to find the right match,” Oja’s father Rajdeep Ranade said. Rajdeep was only a 50% match, not close enough back in 2020. But a 100% match was found in a man from the U.K. in record time. “So with God’s grace and everyone’s blessings they found a match in a month which is like insane,” Raj said. The match came just in time for Ojas’s first birthday. However, the relief was short-lived. In second-grade, Ojas began experiencing severe “midnight headaches,” prompting an emergency MRI, his mother said. “And by 2 p.m. the same day he tells me his cancer is back. Which was like, I cannot even explain how I felt,” Raj said. Ojas was the only person in the world to experience this rare form of JMML relapse, his father said. “I soon learned that after that cancer was kind of a big deal. It like takes time to recover and you have to like go to the hospital,” Ojas said.Incredibly, Ojas beat the odds again. With the help of new technology, his father Rajdeep as a 50% match was able to be his donor this time and save his life. “Any father would have done it,” he said. Ojas and his family now take life one day at a time, monitoring his health with regular blood tests. In March, Ojas will mark five years in remission. His recovery is attributed in part to the generosity of blood and marrow donors and the work of nonprofits like Vitalant. “It’s always because of the donors’ generosity and their selfless act to donate to people in need so I think it’s amazing work that they do,” Raj said.This article was produced as part of coverage for the 2026 Blood Drive for Life on Jan. 7-10. You can make an appointment at vitalant.org/kcra.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Ojas Ranade is your typical talented seventh grader, but what he has experienced so far in his young life is anything but typical.

Ranade, from Sacramento, has faced and overcome the rare and aggressive juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) twice, thanks in part to the generosity of bone marrow and blood donors.

“I have leukemia blood cancer,” Ojas said, reflecting on his journey that began when he was diagnosed at just 6 months old.

His mother Raj Ranade describes the cancer as a very rare and aggressive leukemia that “happens to one in a million.” The only treatment is a bone marrow transplant, she said.

Initially, finding a suitable donor was a daunting task.

“So what we were told is it might take six months, it might take a year to find the right match,” Oja’s father Rajdeep Ranade said.

Rajdeep was only a 50% match, not close enough back in 2020. But a 100% match was found in a man from the U.K. in record time.

“So with God’s grace and everyone’s blessings they found a match in a month which is like insane,” Raj said.

The match came just in time for Ojas’s first birthday. However, the relief was short-lived.

In second-grade, Ojas began experiencing severe “midnight headaches,” prompting an emergency MRI, his mother said.

“And by 2 p.m. the same day he tells me his cancer is back. Which was like, I cannot even explain how I felt,” Raj said.

Ojas was the only person in the world to experience this rare form of JMML relapse, his father said.

“I soon learned that after that cancer was kind of a big deal. It like takes time to recover and you have to like go to the hospital,” Ojas said.

Incredibly, Ojas beat the odds again.

With the help of new technology, his father Rajdeep as a 50% match was able to be his donor this time and save his life.

“Any father would have done it,” he said.

Ojas and his family now take life one day at a time, monitoring his health with regular blood tests.

In March, Ojas will mark five years in remission.

His recovery is attributed in part to the generosity of blood and marrow donors and the work of nonprofits like Vitalant.

“It’s always because of the donors’ generosity and their selfless act to donate to people in need so I think it’s amazing work that they do,” Raj said.

This article was produced as part of coverage for the 2026 Blood Drive for Life on Jan. 7-10. You can make an appointment at vitalant.org/kcra.