MOORE COUNTY, N.C. — A multiracial family is raising awareness about the lack of diversity in stem cell donations after they struggled finding a donor for their son with blood cancer. 

Xavier Contreras-Nelson was diagnosed with infantile leukemia when he was only 4 months old. 

“Seeing how strong he is through the entire process, and it’s really inspiring to us,” Xavier’s dad, Jacob Nelson, said.

His mother, Anna Contreras, said blue dots on his legs and a bloody diaper were the only visible symptoms she noticed before the diagnosis. 

“[It happened] very quickly, he had a bloody diaper and then he was in the ICU,” Contreras said. 

The boy spent seven months in the hospital. 

“It was terrifying,” Contreras said. 

Xavier Contreras-Nelson, who is half Mexican, needed a bone marrow transplant. However, the best chance to find a donor is with someone of the same ethnic background. 

“It was devastating because first you’re told that your infant, practically your newborn, has a life-threatening disease, and then you are told he has a chance at life. We have to find a match but since you are Hispanic, it may not happen at all,” Contreras said. 

According to the National Marrow Donor Program, for a white patient, the likelihood of finding a match is 79%. The odds drop to 48% if you are Hispanic or Latino. The chances are even lower for a Black patient at 29%. 

“The registry of potential donors is less representative of non-Caucasian or non-white European background donors but even if it were equal contribution or equal participation in the donor registry, it would still be harder to find matches, for example, patients of African descent because of the diversity of their typing system, their HLA system, which is how we match,” Duke Health Director of Adult Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Dr. Mitchell Horwitz said.

The military family and donor center DKMS are spreading awareness to improve opportunities for minority populations. 

“We don’t want other parents to go through what we’ve been through,” Contreras said. 

DKMS is recruiting diverse donors in the U.S. and abroad, including in India, South Africa and Chile. 

“The more people we can get registered, especially from populations that aren’t represented enough, the more chances they can have,” DKMS Public Relations and International Communications Manager Maya Ward said. 

The family didn’t find a bone marrow transplant for Xavier Contreras-Nelson. Therefore, the second-best option for him was a cord blood transplant. 

He is now doing well, and his parents hope it stays this way for years to come. 

“He’s being a normal kid, and we love seeing that,” Nelson said. 

Horwitz said in many scenarios, the transplant outcomes from partially matched donors are comparable to those of complete matches. 

He also encourages people to register to have the chance to save someone’s life. 

You can register to become a donor here.