North Texas Phlebotomist Saves Young Cancer Patient Through Stem Cell Donations

Sarah Hilaman's two life-saving donations gave a 10-year-old boy a future.

Published on Feb. 14, 2026

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Sarah Hilaman, a phlebotomist at Children's Health Plano, joined the National Marrow Donor Program registry after seeing cancer patients up close. Five years later, she became a perfect match for a 10-year-old boy in Houston fighting a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer. Hilaman donated her bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells, which helped save the boy's life.

Why it matters

This story highlights the critical importance of people signing up for bone marrow and stem cell donation registries, as there are thousands of patients waiting for a match. Hilaman's selfless act gave a young cancer patient a second chance at life.

The details

In August 2024, Hilaman received the call that she was a 100% match for Santiago, a 10-year-old boy in Houston fighting a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer. Hilaman donated her bone marrow, which carried serious risks, but the transplant worked. However, Santiago's recovery was not going as well as doctors hoped, so in February, Hilaman donated her peripheral blood stem cells as well. This second donation helped Santiago recover, and he is now 95% grafted with Hilaman's cells.

  • In August 2024, Hilaman donated her bone marrow to Santiago.
  • In February, Hilaman donated her peripheral blood stem cells to Santiago.

The players

Sarah Hilaman

A phlebotomist at Children's Health Plano who joined the National Marrow Donor Program registry after seeing cancer patients up close, and later became a perfect match and donor for a young cancer patient.

Santiago

A 10-year-old boy in Houston who was fighting a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, and received life-saving stem cell donations from Hilaman.

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What they’re saying

“We are thankful for him, for his life, to have him here because we didn't know if there was going to be a tomorrow and because of you, we have him.”

— Santiago's mother (National Marrow Donor Program's One Forum conference)

“Honestly, I think that's like.. you don't understand the gravity of it until you're looking at this person. To see him come up on the stage and just be so healthy and smiling and he has a cute cowboy hat on when he came up and to see him alive and well doing so good it honestly just puts so much into perspective.”

— Sarah Hilaman, Phlebotomist (National Marrow Donor Program's One Forum conference)

What’s next

This National Donor Day, Sarah Hilaman hopes their story inspires others to join the bone marrow and stem cell donation registry, as there are still thousands of patients waiting for a match.

The takeaway

This story demonstrates the life-saving impact that stem cell and bone marrow donors can have, and underscores the critical need for more people to sign up for these registries. Hilaman's selfless act gave a young cancer patient a second chance at life.