UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) — A New York City father is making a desperate plea to save his teenage son’s life as he searches for a bone marrow donor.
Fifteen-year-old Max is living with a rare blood disorder that, if left untreated, could develop into a life-threatening blood cancer.
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“The doctor said the words that changed our lives, which were ‘you need to add a transplant doctor to your team,” said Juan Uribe.
Max was just 6-years-old when his blood first told a story no parent wants to hear.
“All of his blood counts were very low,” said Uribe. “At that point in time, the doctors felt that maybe he had leukemia, and they did some testing and they ruled that out.”
He added, “Unfortunately, things never quite returned to normal levels, and they were always at the low end of the normal range or below the normal range.”
The only cure is a stem cell transplant, and the only way to get one is to find a bone marrow donor, but Max still doesn’t have a perfect match. Juan said their Latin heritage makes it harder.
“If you’re a Caucasian, 80 percent chance you’ll find the perfect match donor,” he said. “If you’re Hispanic, it’s less than 50 percent, if you’re African American, it’s less than 30 percent.”
Juan is now urging everyone to join the bone marrow donor registry. A recruitment drive at Columbia University on Monday brought in 175 new donors. All it takes to sign up is a quick cheek swab using a free kit.
“You swab your cheek — left side, right side — about 15, 20 seconds,” Uribe said, demonstrating the kit. “You stick the barcodes on. You stick it on here. You close it. You seal it.”
Even a partial match offers hope, but Juan warns that Max’s long-term survival is unlikely without the right donor, making every new signup a potential lifeline.
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