Donate to The Sunflower Fund and save lives
The Sunflower Fund invites you to give in a different way.
Blood diseases like leukemia, aplastic anemia, sickle cell disease and myeloma can affect you at any time and at any age.
Many patients diagnosed with blood diseases will find themselves in need of a life-saving blood stem cell or bone marrow transplant from a matching donor.
The chances of a sibling or family member match are only 25 per cent.
Most patients’ hope are dependent on that 75 per cent chance of finding an unrelated matching donor.
Two of the critical challenges faced by registries in the hopes of donor/patient matching are: funding to cover the cost of the DNA tissue-typing test required to register donors and the response from people of all ethnicities to voluntarily register as blood stem cell donors.
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There are patients across the country in need of a transplant that haven’t yet been able to find a donor.
By registering as a blood stem cell donor, you can give the hope of cure. You could save a life.
“If you are between 18 and 45 years of age, weigh more than 50kg, have a BMI of less than 40 and are willing to help anyone for whom you may be a match, we would like to appeal to you to become a donor,” said Kim Webster, head of communications at The Sunflower Fund.
The process to register takes less than 10 minutes and involves two test-tubes of blood being drawn, she continued.
The blood samples are sent away for a DNA tissue-typing test and the results are captured on the registry.
There is no cost to register and no cost if you are a match for a patient and are called upon to donate.
“You can only ever donate once in your life, so you will stay on the registry until you’ve been a match for a patient or until the age of 60, whichever comes first,” Webster added.
About The Sunflower Fund
The Sunflower Fund is a donor recruitment centre and stem cell registry that is part of a global network, dedicated to creating awareness about blood diseases and stem cell donation, recruiting blood stem cell donors and maintaining a registry of committed donors.
The Sunflower Fund pays for the cost of the tissue-type testing.
This is fundamental to saving the lives of South Africans who need a stem cell transplant.
The chance of finding a matching donor is 1 in 100 000 – and as ethnic origin plays a significant role in the search for a donor, South Africa’s rainbow nation is at a distinct disadvantage, requiring a large pool of prospective donors.
Should you wish to become a donor, support one of the fund-raising projects or make a financial contribution, contact The Sunflower Fund on toll-free number 0800 12 10 82 or visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za to learn more or look out for the DONATE button to make a cash donation via the website.
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