New York Father’s Desperate Search for Stem Cell Donor to Save Teen Son’s Life

A New York City father is racing against time to find a stem cell donor for his 15-year-old son, who faces hospitalization within weeks due to a rare and potentially fatal blood disorder.

Max Uribe, a high school freshman who actively participates in competitive tennis and varsity wrestling, was first diagnosed with blood abnormalities when he was just six years old.

“Max was just 6 when we first noticed there was something wrong with his blood counts,” his father, Juan Uribe, explained. “At the time, we thought it was due to a viral infection, but they never fully recovered back to their normal level.”

The situation took a critical turn in December 2024 when Max’s condition deteriorated, leading to a diagnosis of clonal cytopenia, a rare disorder affecting the blood and bone marrow. The severity of his condition became apparent as all three types of his blood cells—red, white and platelets—showed dangerously low counts.

Last August, further testing revealed that Max is on a path to bone marrow failure, creating an urgent need for a stem cell transplant. Without immediate intervention, his condition could progress to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a type of blood cancer, and potentially develop into acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

“The disease has continued to progress, as his blood counts continue to drop, and therefore, we have to take him to transplant in May of this year,” Uribe said. Recent blood work confirmed that Max’s counts are plummeting, intensifying the urgency of finding a compatible donor.

The challenge in Max’s case stems from his mixed heritage. Finding a stem cell donor requires matching specific human leukocyte antigens (HLA), proteins found on most cells in the body. According to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), people with similar ethnic backgrounds are more likely to share compatible HLA types.

While non-Hispanic White patients have a 79% chance of finding a perfect match, the odds drop significantly for minority groups—49% for Hispanic/Latino patients and 29% for Black patients. For individuals with mixed ancestry, the chances are even lower.

“Because Max is a “very rare combination” of half-Colombian from his father and a mix of Italian, British and German from his mother, his path to a perfect match is proving much more difficult,” Uribe noted. “For a kid like Max, with complex, mixed heritage, the math is devastating. The thinking is, we need large numbers if we’re going to have that perfect match for my son.”

If a suitable donor is not secured before Max’s hospitalization in May, doctors will have to proceed with a partial match, which carries significant risks. “The survival rate is meaningfully lower with a partial match, and there’s more risk of graft versus host disease (GVHD), which could lead to complications in the process,” Uribe explained.

GVHD occurs when donor cells begin attacking the recipient’s body. To mitigate this risk with a partial match, Max would likely require extended chemotherapy and immunosuppressant treatments, which could further compromise his already weakened immune system.

The family’s plight highlights a persistent issue in stem cell donation—the underrepresentation of diverse ethnic backgrounds in donor registries. Medical experts have long advocated for expanding donor pools to include more individuals from varied ethnic backgrounds, as this diversity is crucial for patients like Max who have mixed heritage.

Those interested in potentially helping Max can order a free test kit through the Team Max website (swabformax.com). The process involves a simple cheek swab that is analyzed to determine potential matches. The donation process itself has evolved significantly over the years and is now similar to giving blood in many cases, rather than the more invasive bone marrow extraction procedures of the past.

As May approaches, the Uribe family continues their desperate search, hoping that increased awareness will lead to the perfect match that could save their son’s life.