MALDEN GIRL WON'T RECEIVE BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT

MALDEN -- Sara Smith, the 2-year-old leukemia patient from Malden who captured the hearts of her community, returned to St. Louis Children's Hospital Friday without having received her bone marrow transplant.

Late Thursday afternoon, doctors performed a bone marrow aspirate to determine her suitability for transplant. They found 70 percent of her cells to be leukemic and advised that a bone marrow transplant at this time would have a very small chance of success. In addition, doctors discovered that previous chemo-therapy had caused toxicity in her liver.

Her family and doctors agreed the best course of action would be to allow Sara to return home and spend time with her family.

St. Louis Children's Hospital nurse Barb Tesno said, "Our goal is to have Sara return home to Malden as quickly as possible." She said the hospital intended to treat Sara on an outpatient basis.

According to doctors, there is still a small chance that Sara could re-enter remission. If that happens, Sara would be considered a transplant candidate and the testing would begin again.

Sara had been at Milwaukee Children's Hospital awaiting a bone-marrow transplant her community had made possible. She was scheduled to have the transplant as soon as medically feasible and financial issues did not affect the outcome.

Citizens in Southeast Missouri had contributed $65,000 to a benefit account for the child.

Mark Stuenkel, public relations of the Barbara Anne DeBoer Foundation, said: "The money raised for Sara will be used to meet her current medical expenses and reimburse her family for expenses they incurred as a result of her leukemia. Additionally, money in this account will be used to offset any additional expenses the Smith family incurs as a result of Sara's illness."

The Barbara Anne DeBoer Foundation, a non-profit organization, set up the account for Sara and aided her family in the fund-raising drive. The money was raised in just three weeks.

The foundation's policies guarantee that all the donations made are directed toward the patient's medical expenses. Any remaining money is used to offset future medical expenses and cover funeral charges.