DKMS BMST Foundation India registered over 600 potential blood stem cell donors from Kochi
City Air News
Oct 31, 2022 04:53
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Blood cancer patients need matching blood stem cell donors to survive
Kochi, October 31, 2022: DKMS BMST Foundation India, a non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders conducted a weeklong blood stem cell donor registration drive at SCMS School of Technology and Management, Sacred Heart - NSS Unit 31, SCMS School of Architecture NSS Unit SFU/MGU/ERK/2, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship - XSEED, and St. Paul's College- NSS Unit 38 in Kochi. Over 600 students came forward and registered as potential blood stem cell donors by giving their cheek swab samples.
Every 5 minutes, someone in India receives the shattering news that they have been diagnosed with blood cancer or blood disorders like Thalassemia or Aplastic Anemia. A stem cell transplant from an HLA-matched donor is often the only chance at survival for these patients. Most often majority of patients are unable to receive a stem cell transplant due to the unavailability of a matching blood stem cell donor. With very few individuals signing up as potential blood stem cell donors the probability of finding a matching donor gets difficult. This increases the need for more people of Indian ethnicity to register themselves and help save a life.
Patrick Paul, CEO, DKMS BMST Foundation India said “Many blood cancer patients lose their lives because no matching stem cell donor is found in the registry. In India there is only 0.04 per cent of the Indian population is registered as potential blood stem cell donors. 70% of the patients don’t find a match in the family and they depend on an unrelated donor. Thus, there exists a need for a diverse stem cell donor database in the country”.
