We first learned of Jackson “Jax” Ramirez and his need for a bone marrow match in February 2022.

More than a year and a half later, Jax still is searching for his match.

In February 2022, we reported about three events to find a bone marrow donor for the Seneca Valley cyber student with IPEX, a rare life-threatening autoimmune disorder.

One drive was held March 1, 2022, at Haine Middle School. Another was held March 7, 2022, at Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School. Later that month, the 13th annual Shamrock Shuffle race in Harmony offered runners a chance to sign up for a chance to test if they could be the match for Jax, who is now 7.

Since 2017, Jax has stayed isolated with his family to protect his health, and his family has searched for a bone marrow transplant match for him, which would save his life and offer him a chance to have a normal childhood.

On Monday, we reported that the family found three people who had matching bone marrow, but all three potential donors turned out to be “unavailable.” This means they either declined or they failed to respond to phone calls or emails.

This, his mother said, was difficult to learn.

“We were holding our breath for so many months. We waited until the end of September, and they had finally gotten hold of all three individuals and they had their answers, which was they were uninterested in moving forward,” Melissa Ramirez said.

The process of trying to find a match has been particularly challenging for Jax because he is biracial, his mother said in a June 2022 interview.

“There is not enough diversity on the registry as it stands to support kids like Jax, who are (biracial),” Ramirez said at that time.

To help Jax or anyone in need of a bone marrow transplant, people can add themselves to the Be the Match donor registry by texting JAXRAMIREZPA to 61474 or by visiting my.bethematch.org.

People who wish to participate can register online and answer a series of questions about their medical history. Then, they get their cheek swabbed, and their genetic type will be added to the registry.

The next step is key: To be available when the call to donate comes. It can be months or years, according to the website.

Barring any health concerns of your own, consider adding yourself to the registry. You could be the match someone like Jax is waiting for.

— TL