A Father’s Mission to Provide Relief for Kids with Blood Cancer

Joe McDonough, president of The Andrew McDonough B+ (Be Positive) Foundation, has dedicated nearly two decades to supporting children with cancer and their families. The foundation, which he co-founded following the loss of his son Andrew, has grown into one of the largest providers of financial assistance for families of children facing cancer in the United States.

In December 2025, McDonough was recognized at the Blood Cancer Heroes event, which honors individuals who have made a profound impact on people living with leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Hosted by CURE® in partnership with Blood Cancer United, the event celebrates those who elevate patient voices and strengthen support for all individuals affected by blood cancers.

In an interview with CURE, McDonough shared his family’s story and the inspiration behind the B+ Foundation.

Transcript

Can you tell us about your son Andrew and how his story shaped your work in blood cancer advocacy?

My name is Joe McDonough. My family and I live in Wilmington, Delaware, and our lives were perfect back in 2007 by our standards. My wife and I had two children at the time; Ali was a junior in high school, and Andrew was a freshman. On a Saturday, Andrew helped his travel soccer team win a Pennsylvania State Championship. Less than 48 hours later, we were at the hospital thinking Andrew had appendicitis. We were told that Andrew had leukemia. Andrew then went into septic shock and cardiac arrest, less than 48 hours after leading his team to a state championship. After they resuscitated Andrew, I said to the doctor, “Is my son going to be okay?” He looked at me and said, “Your son will not live through the night.” I was stunned, and I said, “Only God and Andrew know.”

My son lived through that night, and he battled for 167 days in the hospital, mostly in the pediatric intensive care unit, before dying in his 16-year-old sister's arms on July 14, 2007. Two weeks before we went into the hospital, before he was diagnosed, Andrew said to me out of the blue, “Dad, what's my blood type?” I was embarrassed because I didn't know. It turns out, on day two, we found out his blood type was B positive. So, Allie started putting posters on the door that said, “Don't come into this room unless you're going to B+.” It just took off. We had 900,000 hits from all over the world while we were in the hospital.

After Andrew went to heaven, with the blessing of my wife and daughter, I left my career at JPMorgan Chase, and we started The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation to share the blessings that we had received with others. We started off helping families pay their bills. When you're in the hospital for a long period of time, you miss paychecks, and families face eviction, or the power is turned off, or the car needs to be repaired so they can get to the hospital, or they need help with fertility preservation. Now, 18 years later, we're the largest provider of financial assistance to families of kids with cancer in the United States, and we also fund research globally so we can change the landscape of childhood cancer for future kids.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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