According to the Global Cancer Observatory, a South African is diagnosed with a blood disorder every five minutes, and while the number of patients is constantly rising there are only under 77 000 registered donors in the country.
In light of this, and to mark the end of the National Bone Marrow Stem Cell Donation and Leukaemia Awareness Month, which is observed from August 15 to October 15, the Sunflower Fund is urging South Africans to support their flagship campaign, Sunflower Day.
Alana James, the CEO of the Sunflower Fund, said Sunflower Day will be celebrated on November 13 this year in light of Covid-19.
It has become a beacon of hope to the many who suffer from blood disorders.
“This is because the funds from the Tube of Hope (Tope) sales, which will be on sale from October 1, assist in ensuring the Sunflower Fund can continue the life-saving work they do recruiting donors and assisting patients who require financial support with getting a transplant.
“However, the statistics around blood disorders versus the number of donors in the country is shocking,” said James.
“To further complicate matters, a patient’s best chance of finding a matching donor is from someone within the same ethnic or cultural group as them.”
Unfortunately, she said patients of colour are at a disadvantage due to the lack of black, coloured and Indian population groups in the global donor database.
“One such example is six-year-old Azile Ngubane, who started experiencing joint pain and weight loss, which after a series of tests resulted in a diagnosis of lymphoblastic leukaemia.
“Azile has no siblings and is still desperately in search of a match to save her life.”
She pointed out that finding a matching donor comes down to genetics.
“There is a common misconception that a genetic match can only exist within the family. However, there is only a 25 per cent chance that a sibling could be a match.
“The remaining 75 per cent chance is based on finding an unrelated matching donor, and there is only a one to 100 000 chance of a patient finding a match, making the need for donors crucial.”
Blood disorders are complex and range from more frequently heard of blood cancers like leukaemia to aplastic anaemia, sickle cell disease, bone marrow failure, red, white and autoimmune blood cell illness, explained James.
“They do not discriminate against certain cultures or ethnicities, genders or societal status and are not all hereditary so anyone can be diagnosed at any age.
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“The many misapprehensions around blood disorders and stem cell donations are a major challenge for us as an organisation, making it so much more difficult to secure the much-needed donors,” said James.
“There tends to be confusion between blood donation, organ donation and stem cell donation. These are completely different databases.
“There are also many cultural and religious uncertainties that people think are cause for them not to register.”
However, in order to assist as many patients diagnosed with leukaemia and other blood disorders as possible with finding their life-saving match, James called on more South Africans to take action in one of the following ways:
- Become a donor, it’s not as painful as people think Most people worry that the procedure to register or donate stem cells will be painful.
- Registering involves three swabs of DNA collected from the inside of your mouth and cheeks and can be done from the comfort of your home.
- When you are a match for a patient, donating is non-invasive and doesn’t require an operation, anesthetic or incisions.
- While many people think once they become a donor they will be asked to donate stem cells more than once. You will only donate stem cells once in your life when you are a match for a patient.
- Becoming a donor is completely free as there are no costs involved at any point in the process.
Buy a Tope and share some hope
The Sunflower Fund’s annual Sunflower Day campaign will be commemorated on November 13 this year.
The much-loved celebratory Tope will go on sale from October 1 and will retail for R30 at Pick n Pay stores nationwide, selected independent pharmacies and online at Zando.
All proceeds from the sales of the product enable the organisation to recruit blood stem cell donors, offering the hope of a cure for patients diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases and contributes to the growth of the patient assistance fund.
In addition to the sale of Topes, the Sunflower Fund is urging all supporters to consider planning a mini-event or fund-raiser to commemorate Sunflower Day and help with much-needed fund-raising efforts to grow the patient support fund.
If you are between the ages of 18 and 55 years, with a BMI of less than 40 and a consistent body weight of more than 50kg you could be eligible to become a stem cell donor. For more information or to register visit www.sunflowerfund.org or call 0800 12 10 82.
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