NYC's Latino Community Unites to Find Matching Donor For Baby Sophia

Family joins DKMS in spreading the word about daughter’s search for a lifesaver at New York’s 53rd National Puerto Rican Day Parade

Sophia Lopez, a 7-month-old girl who was diagnosed with HLH this past January, is still desperately searching for a bone marrow donor that could be her lifesaving hero. On Sunday, June 13, the Lopez family of Pelham Bay, NY, came out in full force as they spread the word about DKMS and Sophia's need for a match in the Latino community at New York City’s 53rd National Puerto Rican Day Parade. This year, an estimated two million people marched on Fifth Avenue, ushered in by this year’s Grand Marshall, singer Marc Anthony, and his wife, Jennifer Lopez. Ms. Lopez met with the Lopez family just days earlier to offer her support.

Emergency Rights, a nonprofit organization that provides social services in the South Bronx, purchased a float for the parade in order to share Sophia’s story with fellow Latinos and encourage attendants to register as bone marrow donors with DKMS. As part of their campaign to register donors of underrepresented ethnic backgrounds, the organization hosted a drive on June 6th in Soundview, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of the Bronx.

Urban Latino Radio has also been a notable champion of Sophia’s cause. In conjunction with the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority), the Brooklyn-based radio station donated a large banner in Sophia’s honor that was displayed on their float. In anticipation of the parade, the company also sponsored a DKMS information booth at the annual 116th Street Festival in Harlem, the largest Latin event of its kind in the tri-state area with over one million participants.

As baby Sophia continues her fight to find a donor, Latino community organizers raise awareness about the importance of registering with DKMS as bone marrow donors in order to help children like Sophia. Dressed like “the little princess” her mother always dreamed of, Sophia was baptized on Tuesday, June 15th, surrounded by a network of family and friends eager to witness this milestone in her young and fragile life. Still in search of a perfect match, the Lopez family bravely campaigns to find Sophia and other children in desperate need of a transplant their lifesaving donors.

Help Sophia and others. Register today.

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