By Jared Gottselig

Family seeking help for 6-year-old in need of stem cell transplant

Jun 20, 2017 | 3:06 PM

A family from Mervin, SK is hoping the public can help their daughter, six-year-old Paige Schmidt, by offering to have a simple swab test done, but it’s a test that could mean life or death for the child.

Paige has a serious medical condition called Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and requires a stem cell transplant. Unfortunately, none of Schmidt’s family members were a match for the transplant.

Initially, Schmidt’s mother noticed that she had some bruising, and decided that Schmidt should go in for testing to see what was causing it.

“[Paige] had very low hemoglobin, no platelets, and a very low white [blood] cell count,” Kristi Koop, a friend of Schmidt’s mother, said. “It’s been a hard struggle for them to find out what’s actually the matter with her.”

MDS is a rare disorder in which the bone marrow fails to produce these cells.

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A stem cell transplant would allow for Schmidt to generate her own hemoglobin, white blood cells and platelets.

However, until a match is found, Schmidt has to get weekly platelet transfusions, and a blood transfusion every other week.

Potential donors would go through a relatively painless process when donating stem cells. Once a health questionnaire and cheek swab has been completed, the consenting donor would then have a full physical completed.

Following the physical is the actual donation process, which can be done one of two ways. The most common way is through a process similar to a blood donation.

“Basically [we] take your blood in cycles, spin it and skim off those healthy stem cells, then actually give your other blood products back,” Darrin Desmedt, Territory Manager with Canadian Blood Services, said. “In more rare instances, about 15 per cent of the time, we will actually need to take the stem cells directly from the bone marrow [through the hip bone]… you’re put out for that procedure, and there’s really no pain involved in the actual extraction of the stem cells.”

“Usually you have a day or two of recovery after that, and most people say it feels like you slipped on ice and maybe bumped your hip.”

“She’s doing pretty good, but if she at all gets sick… she has to be hospitalized,” Koop said. “She’s got no immunity [sic] to fight any infections.”

Schmidt’s family is asking for people between from ages of 17 to 35 to attend a cheek swabbing event on Sunday, June 25 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Mervin Community Hall to help find a match for her.

jared.gottselig@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW