Dax Hurst donor and Pacheco meeting

The Pacheco family were surprised by the young man who gave them hope and happiness! Dax Hurst donated his stem cells to little Arian Pacheco and gave him a second chance at life .

On Monday, July 5th, NBC’s The Today Show aired a first-time meeting between DKMS donor Dax Hurst and the Pacheco family.

Dax registered at his college campus drive in 2018 with much encouragement from his girlfriend, but didn’t hesitate once he got the call from DKMS.

In 2019, Arian’s mom, Victoria, gave birth to what seemed to be a perfect baby with no prior health concerns during pregnancy. Two days after being released from the hospital, the hospital’s immunologist called to inform them about Arian’s abnormal test for the Newborn Screen Test, and that they should isolate him and themselves immediately. They were told in the initial call that he was born with no T cells and that he may need a stem cell transplant. Children born with a severe combined immune deficiency don’t live past 1-2 years if they don’t receive treatment immediately.

No one in the family matched little Arian. However, Dax was a perfect match!

Now a year later post transplant, Dax surprised the family at the Pacheco’s home during an interview with NBC Anchor Natalie Morales.

Watch the full story. Click here.

*All persons (including production crew members) involved in the meeting were vaccinated and/or provided rapid response negative test results before the meeting took place in person.