Without treatment, Max Uribe faces a high risk of developing life-threatening blood cancers. His father, Juan Uribe, turned to social media for help, and his plea has now reached a global audience, garnering millions of views on TikTok.
Juan’s 15-year-old son is currently battling a rare blood disorder.
It all started when Max was nearly 7 years old; his blood tests showed several low levels. Leukemia was ruled out, but the levels never stabilized.
Doctors monitored him for several years until, in 2024, his levels dropped dramatically. From then on, his family began searching for a stem cell donor for a possible bone marrow transplant.
“Throughout this time, starting in August, we thought we had two perfect donors on the registry, and that gave us some peace of mind knowing that if we had to get to this point, at least,” said Juan Uribe, Max’s father. “The probability of success in the procedure would be higher.”
But just weeks ago, those donors were no longer available.
“It’s complicated for my son because he’s Latino. I’m Colombian, and my wife, born here in England, has a mixed genetic background,” Juan said. “So, the combination of being a mix of different races and having rare genes makes the search incredibly difficult.”
This family’s struggle has raised awareness about the need for Latino donors.
According to the nonprofit organization NMDP, which helps connect patients with stem cell or bone marrow donors, patients of Latino or mixed ethnicity are significantly underrepresented in blood stem cell registries worldwide.
“We need more people from different cultures on the registry as soon as possible. I think that will benefit thousands and thousands of patients,” said Max’s father.
Within 24 hours, Juan’s TikTok video went viral.
“Seeing the support from so many people around the world has really touched our hearts and given us hope that we’re going to achieve this,” said Juan. “So please help us find donors before April 1st.”
Currently, nearly 20,000 people have registered online to receive their kit.
People can order their kit through NMDP.org and register to donate. For more information or to register as a donor, click here.