An Edmonton family is asking Calgarians to join Canada's stem cell donor registry as they search for a compatible donor for their five-year-old daughter, Taqdeer Dhaliwal, who is living with severe aplastic anemia, a rare and serious form of bone marrow failure.
Her mother, Sandeep Dhaliwal, spoke with YYC24 about the family's search, Taqdeer's ongoing treatment and why she wants more people to understand what bone marrow does and how stem cell donation works.
A donor registration drive is planned for Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Dashmesh Culture Centre, 135 Martindale Boulevard NE, Calgary. The family says an earlier registration drive in Edmonton attracted approximately 100 participants.
A family searching for answers
Taqdeer turns six on December 19. Her mother says ordinary childhood activities now require special care because of the risk of infection and bleeding associated with her condition.
Taqdeer has two older sisters and a younger brother. Sandeep says none of the three siblings was found to be a suitable stem cell match, leaving the family searching donor registries for someone compatible.
According to her mother, Taqdeer receives regular blood-product transfusions to help support her while doctors assess treatment. Low platelets can make bruising and bleeding dangerous, while extremely low levels of infection-fighting white blood cells leave her vulnerable to severe illness.
Sandeep described a neutrophil count of approximately 0.1. Neutrophils are white blood cells that help the body fight infection. A count this low, generally reported in billions of cells per litre, indicates profound neutropenia and a high risk of serious infection; it does not mean the body literally has no immune system.
Her family has been instructed to seek urgent medical care if she develops a fever. Sandeep says the uncertainty has also been difficult emotionally: Taqdeer sometimes asks whether she will die, a question her parents struggle to answer while trying to reassure her.
The family credits Taqdeer's healthcare team at Edmonton's Stollery Children's Hospital with helping her through ongoing complications and treatment. YYC24 has not independently reviewed her medical records; details of her personal care are based on her mother's account and the family's public fundraising appeal.
What bone marrow does, and what happens when it fails
Bone marrow is soft tissue inside bones, particularly in places such as the pelvis. It contains blood-forming stem cells that continuously produce the cells needed to keep the body functioning. It is not the spinal cord.
Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body. White blood cells help defend against infections. Platelets help blood clot and prevent excessive bleeding.
In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow cannot produce enough of these cells. The resulting shortages can cause fatigue and weakness, dangerous infections, and bleeding or bruising. In many acquired cases, the immune system attacks blood-forming stem cells, although causes vary and not every patient's disease develops the same way.
Blood or platelet transfusions can temporarily replace cells the body lacks. They do not, on their own, restore the bone marrow's ability to make new ones. Treatments may include medicines that suppress an immune attack on the marrow or a transplant of healthy blood-forming stem cells.
Treatment underway while donor search continues
Sandeep says Taqdeer began immunosuppressive treatment on September 28, receiving horse-derived anti-thymocyte globulin, known as ATG, during a hospital admission. ATG contains antibodies produced using horses; it is a manufactured medicine, not an injection of horse cells.
According to the family, she is also taking cyclosporine and received steroids as part of her treatment. ATG and cyclosporine reduce immune activity that may be damaging the bone marrow. Steroids are commonly given around ATG treatment to help prevent or manage immune reactions, including serum sickness.
Sandeep says the medication and its side effects have been difficult. Doctors are monitoring Taqdeer's blood counts and response, with a significant assessment expected toward the end of December. Medical guidance indicates that improvement after this type of therapy can take three to six months, sometimes longer, so a three-month review does not necessarily provide a final answer.
If her response is inadequate, her clinical team will assess further options. Those decisions depend on her condition and available donors; another course of immunosuppressive therapy or a transplant should not be presented as an automatic next step.
How a stem cell transplant works
A blood stem cell transplant aims to give a patient healthy blood-forming stem cells capable of establishing new blood production. After preparation with specialist treatment, donated cells are infused into the patient's bloodstream, similar to a transfusion. They can then travel to the bone marrow and begin making new blood cells.
A transplant can offer a potential cure for some people with severe aplastic anemia, but it is a major medical procedure with risks, including infections, failure of the donor cells to establish themselves and graft-versus-host disease. Whether transplantation is appropriate is determined by the patient's medical team.
Joining the registry is a cheek swab, not a bone marrow operation
Sandeep says she wants to address a common misunderstanding about stem cell donation: registering as a potential donor does not require anyone to undergo surgery or have bone marrow removed.
Canadian Blood Services invites people ages 17 to 35 who meet its health criteria to register. The initial process includes consent and a cheek swab used for HLA tissue typing. People can also sign up online and receive a kit by mail. Registration does not mean an immediate donation, and a registered person may never be called.
If someone is identified as a potential match, Canadian Blood Services carries out further screening and discusses the donation options before the person decides whether to proceed.
According to Canadian Blood Services, approximately 90 per cent of blood stem cell collections are performed through peripheral blood donation. Donors receive medication over several days to move stem cells into the bloodstream; a machine then collects those cells from their blood and returns the remaining components. The collection generally takes four to six hours and does not require surgery.
The other approximately 10 per cent involve a bone marrow collection, performed under anesthesia. A clinician withdraws liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bones using a hollow needle. The spinal cord is not involved. Both procedures have potential side effects and recovery considerations, which are discussed with donors beforehand.
Why ancestry can matter in finding a match
Matching a stem cell donor is different from matching a blood type. Specialists compare inherited human leukocyte antigen markers, or HLA, which influence how the immune system recognizes cells. A close match is important to reduce transplant complications.
Because HLA markers are inherited, people are often more likely to find a compatible donor among people with similar ethnic ancestry. Sandeep says Taqdeer's doctors have identified the Punjabi community as a potentially important source of matches. That does not rule out donors of other backgrounds, and Canadian Blood Services encourages a diverse registry.
Canadian Blood Services says fewer than one-quarter of patients find a match within their families. The organization notes that stem cell transplants are used to treat more than 80 diseases and disorders. Anyone who joins the registry must be willing to donate to any compatible patient, not only Taqdeer.
An additional option the family is exploring
Sandeep says the family is also exploring in vitro fertilization (IVF) and specialized embryo tissue-typing as a possible future route to a compatible sibling donor. Under certain circumstances, testing can identify embryos with HLA markers compatible with a child needing a transplant; stem cells from a resulting child's umbilical cord blood may then be considered for treatment.
This is a complex option requiring fertility, genetics and transplant specialists. It is not a guaranteed match, pregnancy or cure, and the family has not said that a procedure has been approved or scheduled.
The family's public GoFundMe seeks financial assistance for Taqdeer's medical care and related expenses. Sandeep told YYC24 that the possible IVF pathway is also an important consideration in their fundraising plans.
How Calgarians can help
The family is asking eligible people to consider registering as stem cell donors at the Calgary event on Saturday, November 7, 2026, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Dashmesh Culture Centre, 135 Martindale Boulevard NE.
Sandeep says additional donor drives are being organized in Brampton, Ontario, and that the family hopes to bring registration efforts to Vancouver and Winnipeg.
People unable to attend in Calgary can check their eligibility and register directly through Canadian Blood Services. Registrants are added to the broader donor search system and could be contacted to help a patient anywhere in need, not solely Taqdeer.
Taqdeer's family is hoping for a compatible donor and, ultimately, the chance for her to return to the ordinary routines of childhood.
Registration, family fundraiser and medical sources
Canadian Blood Services: Stem cell donor eligibility and registration
Canadian Blood Services: What stem cell donation involves
Canadian Blood Services: Why donor diversity matters
Taqdeer's family fundraiser on GoFundMe
National Institutes of Health: Aplastic anemia explained
Pediatric Blood & Cancer (2024): Treatment recommendations for children with severe aplastic anemia
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: Pre-implantation tissue typing
Reporting note: This feature includes an interview with Taqdeer's mother, Sandeep Dhaliwal. Descriptions of Taqdeer's medical care and the family's plans are attributed to her. General medical and donation information was checked against the sources linked above.