Become a donor, join the fight against blood cancer
According to DKMS Africa, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer or a life-threatening blood disease every 27 seconds.
AS South Africans commemorate women’s month this August, DKMS Africa celebrates the significant roles women play in society and in their organisation.
Stephanie Berry, head of donor recruitment at DKMS Africa, said as they celebrate the women who are mothers, caregivers, survivors, donors, influencers, scientists, teachers and medical staff they remember those in need. DKMS Africa is calling on the community to register as blood stem cell donors and join the fight against blood cancer.
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“Blood cancer persists despite all the circumstances surrounding us and now more than ever we need champions to take up our cause,” said Berry.
According to DKMS Africa, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer or a life-threatening blood disease every 27 seconds and for most of these patients, the only hope of a cure is a blood stem cell transplant from a matching donor.
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When more donors register, it increases the pool of prospective matches and gives affected patients a second chance at life. If one is a match for a patient, the process of donating blood stem cells is much like donating blood platelets.
DKMS Africa, formerly known as The Sunflower Fund, is the South African entity of the global DKMS family. DKMS is a stem cell donor registry and has registered over 10.6 million donors worldwide.
For more information, contact Allison Ekstrand on 031 266 1148 or email allison.ekstrand@dkms-africa.org.
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