St. Albert girl in desperate need of bone marrow donor finds a match

A 12-year-old St.Albert girl in desperate need of a bone marrow donor has found a match.

Alex Pasichnyk'sdoctorsdecided she needed a transplant after she was diagnosed with a rare blood disease.

In June, she found out she has severe aplastic anemia. The disease inhibitsthe body's ability to create enough healthy blood cells.

Alex's family has been searching for a bone marrow donor since August. They were told the odds of finding a match were one in 14 million, but after more thanfour months of waiting, they have found a donor.

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"To have this confirmation is huge to us," Alex's fatherSheldon Pasichnyk said. "It's a major lift off of our shoulders and a move forward in my daughter's care."

If the transplant is successful, Alex will be cured, her mom, Lisa Pasichnyk said. That means no more medication, no more isolation and no more lying in hospital beds.

"It's been a long road," LisaPasichnyk said. "Now, having a confirmed donor, this person's going to save her life."

But the family might never get a chance to thank the potential life-saver. The donor's identitywon't be disclosed.

The family can apply to find out more about the donor in two years, but only if the donor wants to share their information.

"At this point, we know nothing about this person," SheldonPasichnyk said. "We don't know if they are even from Canada."

Treatment starts Wednesday

Right now, the focus is on Alex's upcoming transfusion. It took more than four months for doctors to find a donor, but now that they have, the process is moving quickly.

Alex will be admitted to a Calgary hospital Tuesdayand will start chemo and immunosuppressive therapy Wednesday to prepare for the transfusion on Jan. 17, Lisa said.

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It's a lot for a 12-year-old to handle.

"She's trying to process it," Lisa Pasichnyk said. "I think she's scared."

The procedure has a five per cent mortality risk, she added.

The transplant will put a strain on Alex's already-poor health,Sheldon Pasichnyksaid.

"The process itself the conditioning, the chemotherapy, the radiation what they have to do to essentially prep her body to accept these new stem cells is hard. It's going to be tough on her," said SheldonPasichnyk.

"It's probably going to be the hardest thing she'll ever have to go through in her life. And so I think she's worried about that."

Alex hasn't been able to go to school this year, and won't be able to return until about six months after the transplant.

She'll have to steer clear of public spaces until her immune system recovers.

"We thought we lived in a bubble now, and we have to be even more diligent," Lisa Pasichnyk said.

But if recovery is successful, Alex can go back to being a normal, energetic kid. She can enjoy the things she loves, like music, art and swimming.

The family organized several bone marrow drives to find a match for Alex but their work isn't done yet. They're encouraging people to consider attending a drive.

"There's other people still waiting," Pasichnyk said.

People interested in becoming a bone marrow donor can fill out a health questionnaire at www.onematch.ca.