Become a Sunflower Fund stem cell donor online

Organisations around the country have been operating in a state of “business unusual” since the beginning of the lockdown in March. While some industries were able to return to normal operations as restrictions have been relaxed, the ongoing need for social distancing has irreversibly changed the game for others.

The Sunflower Fund, partnered by DKMS, has traditionally relied on various face-to-face engagements such as events and public donor drives to create awareness and education about stem cell donation and to recruit stem cell donors.

A Stem cell or bone marrow transplant, is often the only hope of cure for patients with blood disorders like leukaemia, sickle cell disease and Thalassaemia to name but a few.

In order to have a successful transplant, a patient needs a donor with the same genetic characteristics as them. There is only a 30 oer cent chance that a family member might be a match. The remaining 70 per cent chance is that a stranger somewhere in the world might be a perfect match.

With the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing, The Sunflower Fund has had to cancel all public and face-to-face drives.

Even in the midst of the pandemic, every 35 seconds someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with a blood disorder. As such, there is an ongoing need to recruit donors and build an ethnically diverse registry of committed donors.

Technology has for a long time played an important role in matching donors and patients globally. Doctors can search both locally and internationally for matches on behalf of their patients through a globally linked database, which is used by all registries around the world.

To curb the challenges that Covid-19 has placed on the recruitment of donors, The Sunflower Fund has rolled out their online registration platform. Individuals interested in registering can now visit www.sunflowerfund.org and click register to complete the process online.

A swab kit will then be couriered to you, so you can now register as a donor without leaving your home. It only takes two swabs on the inside of your cheek to register as a donor and the online health screening takes less than 10 minutes to complete, said Kim Webster, head of communications at The Sunflower Fund.

“It takes about seven minutes to register, and in one hour you can mobilise your networks to follow suit and become one of more than 32 million people globally committed to saving lives of patients with blood disorders. We all have the power to save a life, all it takes is a decision to just take action.

Individuals between 18 and 55 years can register as donors. If you have a consistent weight of more than 50kg and a BMI of less than 40 you could be eligible to register.

Visit www.sunflowerfund.org and register as a stem cell donor today or call 0800 12 10 82.

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