Four-year-old Montrealer in need of stem cell donation: are you her life-saving match?  

Playing in the park, that was four-year-old Minh Nguyen’s favourite place to be.

Today, she’s fighting for her life at Montreal’s Sainte-Justine Hospital. Diagnosed with a rare blood disease – Medullary Aplasia – waiting for a compatible stem cell donor.

“The only thing that she’s asking right now is to go home,” said her mother, Thanh Diem Nguyen. “And she can’t.”

Four-year-old Minh Nguyen at Montreal’s Sainte-Justine Hospital. (Credit: Thanh Diem Nguyen)

This is the third time Minh has been hospitalized since June 1.

Nguyen describing her daughter’s chances of finding a match as “one in one million.”

“She’s half Caucasian, half Asian which makes it even more difficult,” said Nguyen.

Donors need to be of the same ethnic background as the recipient. Right now, about 70 per cent of all registered donors are white, roughly 15 per cent are Asian – and not many of mixed ethnicities.

“It’s important for people to register to be a stem cell donor because there are thousands of patients around the world, like Minh, who are waiting to find their donor match,” explained Carmel Ciceron, communications coordinator of Swab The World, an organization whose mission is to boost ethnic diversity in the global stem cell donor base.

“In order for them to find their matches, we just need more people to register,” she added.

#WATCH: "She wants to go home," said Thanh Diem Nguyen whose four-year-old daughter, Minh Nguyen, is waiting for a compatible stem cell donor after being diagnosed with a rare blood disease.

READ: https://t.co/HlAQlzmUPo pic.twitter.com/i24o6gW2LB

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) June 29, 2022

What are stem cells?

Blood stem cells are immature cells which can develop into cells present in the bloodstream, like:

• Red blood cells: carry oxygen through the body.
• White blood cells: fight infections.
• Platelets: help control bleeding.

“She has the sever form of Medullary Aplasia,” said Nguyen. “Which means her bone marrow doesn’t work.”

Mihn’s white blood cells are now at zero. Making her prone to infections.

She also has anemia, due to the lack of red blood cells being produced by the bone marrow. Needing at least three blood transfusions per week.

“The bone marrow also doesn’t produce anymore platelets,” said Nguyen. “She’s prone to severe bleeding, therefore she cannot go anywhere where she can fall.”

“She loves going to parks, she can’t anymore.”

Minh Nguyen before being diagnosed with a rare blood disease – Medullary Aplasia – waiting for a compatible stem cell donor. (Credit: Thanh Diem Nguyen)

Becoming a stem cell donor

You have the potential of saving a patient anywhere in the world when you signup with the registry associated with your country.

“Once you’re matched, your healthy stem cells will regenerate after the donation,” said Ciceron. “The procedures are incredibly safe.”

All it takes to register: a cheek swab.

Quebec residents can register through Héma-Quebec. Canadian residents out of Quebec can register via Canadian Blood Services.

“Stem cell donation is not the same as blood donation,” said Ciceron. “Stem cell donation requires more of a specific match on a immunity level, which means on a genetic level.”

“Half Asian, half Caucasian, I hope that you will register,” said Nguyen as Minh began to cry behind her, laying in the hospital bed. “She want’s her family, she wants to go home […] that’s why she’s crying.”

Nguyen is grateful for all those who have already registered. Reminding us that even if you aren’t a match for her daughter, you can be the “one in one million” for someone else.

“Minh, she’s my little sunshine,” she said.

“You gain the opportunity to potentially save a life,” said Ciceron. “It’s a very selfless act.”