4-year-old girl needs bone marrow transplant after rare blood disease diagnosis

People urged to join bone marrow donor registry

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — A Northglenn family is asking folks to register for the national bone marrow donor list after their 4-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder.

Nova Solis was diagnosed with aplastic anemia about a month ago. It’s so rare that only two out of every 1 million people in the U.S. have the same diagnosis.

Her mother, Miranda Skinner, said the family discovered her condition after seeing significant bruising on the preschooler’s body and seeing her nose bleed for over 30 minutes. So they took her to the doctor, where they eventually got that diagnosis.

“I’ve broke down quite a few times since finding out, it’s hard,” said Skinner.

The diagnosis has changed their entire routine. Nova can no longer go to preschool, go shopping with her mom or play with her cousins outside.

“Just the severity of it,” said Yngrid Ramirez, Nova’s grandmother. “When we found out the severity of it, it’s a hard thing to wrap your head around. And there is a possibility that certain medications may not take, and we’re looking at years of treatment. And even after the treatment does take, there is still years of recovery time.”

Getting a bone marrow transplant for Nova has presented additional issues. Some ethnic groups have more complex tissues, causing people with those backgrounds to have the best chance of finding a bone marrow donor with someone of the same ethnic background.

Unfortunately, the number of Latina or Hispanic people on the donor list is small. Nova’s doctor, Taizo Nakano, a pediatric hematologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said getting on the donor list is as easy as a cotton swab to the inside of your cheek.

“Oftentimes we have to turn to the national or international registries to find a perfect donor, and that can be hard to find a perfect match out there. And so what you know is nice is to advocate,” Nakano said.

If you’d like to register to be added to the donor list you can visit the Be The Match website here.