THE South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR), established in 1991, was initiated due to the concern that although bone marrow transplants are a life-saving treatment option, they were only available to patients with matching donors in their family.
The organisation, which has an office in uMhlanga, searches both locally and internationally for donors, collaborating with international registries and observing essential universal standards of practice.
For this reason, fundraising events, such as their upcoming golf day, are imperative to SABMR.
SABMR deputy director Jane Ward says that while the registration for a prospective donor is free of charge, the organisation absorbs the cost of the testing kits and transportation thereof.
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“When a prospective donor is eligible, we dispatch a buccal swab kit via courier to their home/office at no charge. This cost is carried entirely by SABMR, which includes the laboratory tissue-typing testing, and it amounts to around R1 500 per donor. For this reason, we rely on fundraising campaigns and donations from the public and corporates, for which we are grateful. Every little bit counts.”
If you would like to become a donor, contact SABMR on 021 447 8638 or email: donors@sabmr.co.za. Financial donations can also be made via www.sabmr.co.za/donate.
The golf day takes place on March 24 at the Durban Country Club.
The cost per four-ball is R3 000 and includes arrival drinks, lunch, watering holes, dinner, an auction, a goodie bag and a prize-giving.
SABMR is also looking for gifts and items for its online auction. Companies who wish to exhibit at the golf day can do so and pledge their support to the cause.
Companies who make pledges will receive section 18a tax certificates.
For more information on becoming a donor, or to make a booking for the golf day, contact Kapil Premchand, SABMR sustainability and donor recruitment coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal on 072 794 9316 or email kapil.premchand@sabmr.co.za.
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