Family desperate for bone marrow donor for teen

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston-area household hopes the greater assemblage tin assistance prevention their son's life.

Diego is simply a 15-year-old who lives successful The Woodlands with his family. He's presently battling a relapse of an assertive signifier of leukemia. He's already received a humor and bony marrow transplant from 1 of his 2 brothers, but helium desperately needs different one. Unfortunately, determination is nary matching donor successful the nationalist Be The Match registry.

"You don't recognize that your beingness tin alteration successful conscionable 1 minute, due to the fact that of a happening similar this," Diego's mother, Mariana Llerenas told ABC13. "He's a young antheral - helium understands what's happening and what's up of him. He's precise strong."

In hopes of uncovering a lucifer to prevention young Diego's life, there's a Donor Drive Saturday successful The Woodlands. It's being held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. astatine the South County Community Center. The household said they are hopeless for donors of Hispanic and Latin descent, arsenic the patient's ethnicity plays a immense origin successful matching - and numbers are debased successful Diego's demographic.

"About 13% of the Be the Match registry is Hispanic oregon Latino, and it is simply a reasonably debased number," explained Erica Sevilla with the National Marrow Donor Program. "We perfectly request much diversity."

People betwixt the ages of 18 to 40 are encouraged to travel to The Woodlands and swab their cheeks for 10 seconds and insert their ain illustration into an envelope. The illustration volition past beryllium entered into the national/international marrow donor registry and tested to spot if it tin beryllium utilized successful a transplant and assistance prevention a life.

If you're incapable to be the Donor Drive for Diego successful person, you tin substance the sanction "DIEGO" to 61474, capable retired the accusation signifier and person a swab kit mailed to your home. You tin besides registry astatine the Be The Match website.

"We perfectly request to find a donor lucifer for Diego - this could prevention his life," Erica added. "And truthful we truly anticipation that the full assemblage volition travel retired and conscionable enactment themselves successful the shoes of his parents, they request to they request you to travel retired and to and to assistance him."

"Go and get tested," Mariana pleaded. "It's conscionable a elemental enactment that could alteration the beingness of a kid."

For much updates connected Diego's story, travel Adam Winkler connected Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.