Help Save Diego

Sign Up & Be Mailed a Kit

It takes less than two minutes and a simple mouth swab to

Anyone between the ages of 18 and 40 can register to be a match. Hispanic patients, like Diego, only have 48% chance of finding a match. Because of this, people of Hispanic and Latino heritage are encouraged to get tested.

Click Here to Register for Your Kit

or
Text DIEGO TO 61474

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What can you do to help right now?

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After visiting each profile's page, click on the option to share the profile with a friend, then who you'd like to share Diego's story with!

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Get to Know Diego

Diego is a brave, determined and caring 15-year-old boy with a beautiful smile. He loves soccer and all sports, hanging out with friends, and his dog Clover. Diego and his family are originally from Mexico, but have made The Woodlands, Texas home for 13 years.

Diego’s battle with cancer started on September 25, 2020. It all started with a sore throat, then some swollen nodes behind his ears and finally a rash on his legs. In the course of a week, Diego went from a healthy, active boy to hospitalized and fighting for his life. He was diagnosed with AML Leukemia, a cancer of his blood and bone marrow.

Diego has been through 3 difficult cycles of chemotherapy, each approximately 35 days in the hospital. At the end of the third cycle, he received the wonderful news- Diego was in remission!

By the grace of God, one of his two brothers was a perfect match to transplant blood and bone marrow and on February 19, 2021, Diego received his brother’s cells. The following months were hard, as his body recovered from the trauma of treatment, but full of hope. He started exercising, seeing his friends, and getting ready to go back to school.

In August his cell counts started to decline, and the doctors decided to perform a bone marrow test to check that everything was fine. Diego and his family received the word that they never wanted to hear: RELAPSE. The cancer had returned. Diego immediately started treatment and the initial test results have shown no evidence of leukemia. The next step: another bone marrow transplant

Since his brother is unable to donate again and there is no matching donor in the Be the Match registry, Diego NEEDS YOU. Only 11% of donors are of Latin/Hispanic descent which is important in predicting a match for him. Please SPREAD THE WORD and take a MOUTH SWAB to see if you can help save Diego’s life.