Fifteen-year-old Max Uribe of New York City is running out of time. Diagnosed with clonal cytopenia-a precursor to bone marrow failure-he must receive a stem cell transplant by May or face heightened risks of blood cancer and fatal complications.
"All three of his blood counts are low - red, white and platelets," said his father, Juan Uribe. Without a perfect HLA match, doctors may resort to a partial match, which carries significantly lower survival odds and higher risk of graft-versus-host disease.
Max’s mixed ancestry-half-Colombian from his father, and Italian, British, and German from his mother-makes finding a compatible donor exceptionally difficult. While non-Hispanic White patients have a 79% chance of a perfect match, that drops to 49% for Hispanic/Latino individuals and far lower for multiethnic backgrounds like Max’s.
"For a kid like Max, with complex, mixed heritage, the math is devastating," Uribe said.
An active athlete in tennis and wrestling, Max’s blood counts continue to plummet. If no full match is found before hospitalization, he’ll require extended chemotherapy and immunosuppressants, further weakening his immune system.