WOMAN LEADS FIGHT TO SAVE SICK CHILDREN.

Byline: James J. Rodriguez Daily News Staff Writer

As little Garrett and Blayke LaRue wait for that perfect, lifesaving bone marrow match, they have a symbol of hope by their side.

Both suffering from a genetic immune-system disorder called XLP, the 7-month-old and 3-1/2-year-old Oxnard brothers are in need of lifesaving bone marrow transplants.

Over the past few weeks, thousands of people have come to bone marrow donor drives held for the two boys, with hopes of saving the boys. Another drive is scheduled for Feb. 17 in Santa Clarita.

Coordinating it all is Annisa Ayala-Espinosa, a 23-year-old Diamond Bar woman who is living proof that bone marrow saves when all else fails.

It was almost five years ago that Ayala-Espinosa suffered from chronic myelogenous leukemia and was at the center of a series of bone marrow drives herself. The disease is fatal in 80 percent to 90 percent of the cases, unless a suitable bone marrow donor is found.

When the perfect donor couldn't be found, and time was running out, Ayala-Espinosa's parents, Abe and Mary Ayala, both in their 40s, decided to have another child with the hope that the baby's bone marrow would match Annisa's.

Mary Ayala's age and the need to reverse Abe Ayala's vasectomy narrowed their chances of conception. But Marissa Ayala was born in April 1990 and carried the same type of bone marrow needed by her older sister.

The bone marrow transplant was performed.

"Things are going wonderful for me," said Ayala-Espinosa, now an American Red Cross bone marrow donor recruitment specialist. "In June it will be five years and the doctors will have considered me cured."

And Ayala-Espinosa's baby sister isn't so little anymore.

"My sister if 5 years old," Ayala-Espinosa said. "She is in kindergarten. She knows she is the queen and princess who saved my life."

Although much of the medical nightmare is behind her, Ayala-Espinosa has focused much of her attention on recruiting bone marrow donors for others who are experiencing what she has.

"I kind of feel like I'm giving back," she said.

Her latest project is helping the LaRue brothers, the grandsons of Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Ron LaRue. XLP already has claimed the life of their brother, Layne.

"They are beautiful children," Ayala-Espinosa said. "With their disease, you don't have time to search for a donor. They don't have five to 10 years. As soon as we can find them a donor, the better it is. Much better."

The Red Cross will hold a bone marrow donor drive to see if it comes up with a match Feb. 17 at Santa Clarita City Hall, 23920 W. Valencia Blvd.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., prospective donors can donate a blood sample that will be tested to see if it matches the LaRue boys'. Donors must be 18 to 60, in good health and of normal weight, Ayala-Espinosa said.

"You can give someone a second chance at life," she said.

Although donor drives for the LaRue children have had large turnouts, Ayala-Espinosa said the right match hasn't been found. She estimated the chance of finding that match at one in 100 to one in a million.

The youngest LaRue boy, Blayke, underwent chemotherapy at UCLA Medical Center on Tuesday to completely break down his immune system. The procedure was expected to prepare the boy's body for the injection of healthy white blood cells in about 10 days.

If the child's body accepts the white blood cells, which help fight disease and infection, it will start reproducing cells on its own and give Blayke a normal immune system, doctors said.

Nonetheless, Ayala-Espinosa said if the operation does work, Garrett still needs a bone marrow transplant.

For more information on the process or how to provide a blood sample, call [phone], Ext. 4594.