Miami Child Suffering From Life-Threatening Blood Disorder Is Looking For A Genetic Twin
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A loving mother of two is hitting the streets of Miami.
She's not out there for the music, she's just trying to save her sons life.
"This is a lifesaving situation," said Mayra Garcia. "It's a matter of life or death"
Julian Morales is a 7-year-old boy from homestead and Garcia's son.
He is suffering from a rare life-threatening blood disorder called Dyskeratosis Congenita and bone marrow failure.
"The only chance of survival for him would be a bone marrow transplant and for years we've been looking for over years and we're hoping today's the last day, that we find that hero," Garcia said.
Julian and his family teamed up with Be The Match at Calle Ocho's Latin musical festival.
Be The Match is trying to help him find not only someone with the same blood type, but a genetic twin.
"He's been having the most complicated time just having to adjust to the lifestyle of not being a child," said Garcia.
Statistics show on average, a Hispanic patient has a 46 percent chance of finding a match.
Patients are likely to match someone who shares their ethnicity, so his odds of finding that match increase with the more Hispanic donors that sign up.
Anyone interested in seeing if they're a match for Julian can click here to find out how.