Alfredo’s only hope is a blood stem cell donor
Alfredo’s only hope is a blood stem cell donor
Alfredo has experienced more pain as a child than some face in a lifetime. You could be his cure.
Alfredo has a positive spirit. A magnetic personality. Big dreams of becoming a basketball player or professional wrestler.
Alfredo also has debilitating and nearly constant pain. A compromised immune system. A feeding tube administered each night for nutrition. He has an extremely rare genetic disorder called IL-10 receptor deficiency. It's a disease so rare that less than 100 people in the United States have it.
A blood stem cell transplant is Alfredo's only hope for a cure, but he doesn't have a suitable donor on the NMDP RegistrySM.
Alfredo believes there's a match out there. It only takes the right person to join the registry. That person could be you.
“I don’t want to lose my son”
Alfredo has struggled with health issues from almost the day he was born in 2012. When he was just 1 week old, he started having high fevers. He spent the next four months in the neonatal intensive care unit and the following three years in and out of hospitals.
Alfredo had major gastrointestinal (GI) issues and couldn’t eat or absorb nutrients. He wasn’t thriving—but doctors couldn’t figure out why. When he was 3 years old, genetic testing finally revealed Alfredo had IL-10 receptor deficiency.
His immune system works overtime and attacks his body—including his healthy organs and cells. He can’t absorb nutrients, so he uses a feeding tube every night to provide nourishment. He takes medicine that suppresses his immune system, and he struggles with quality-of-life issues.
“He’s been through a lot. He has a low immune system, which makes it easier for him to get viruses and infections,” his mom, Natalia, shared.
She told ABC News, “I just take it day by day, and I just try to do as much of my part to help him out. I suffer with him but I’m just holding on. Every time he’s feeling down, I feel down too. But when he smiles and he brightens my day … that’s it.”
A donor can make a world of difference for Alfredo
A blood stem cell transplant using cells from a donor could cure Alfredo. However, matching donors and patients is complex, and patients are most likely to match a donor of their own ethnic background. That makes Alfredo’s search for a donor even more difficult.
Alfredo has Mexican ancestry. Today, only 13% of potential donors on the NMDP Registry identify as Hispanic versus 55% who identify as White. Patients like Alfredo need more representation on the registry.
By improving the ethnic diversity of the registry, it improves all patients’ odds of finding a life-saving match, regardless of ethnic background.
I’ve been asking God to please help us find his matching donor for him.
Natalia
Alfredo’s mom
For now, Alfredo’s family can only pray that they’ll receive the call that they’ve been waiting for years to get. “I’ve been asking God to please help us find his matching donor for him,” Natalia told ABC News.
Alfredo’s family needs you to join the NMDP Registry. You could be the cure he desperately needs.