Focus on life-saving donations in Blood Donor Month
Matching donors and patients requires both to have a similar DNA.
JUNE is World Blood Donor month and the students from DUT’s ML Sultan campus, with the support of the Sunflower Fund and the South African National Blood Services, encourage the public to embrace the characteristics of a Good Samaritan by becoming bone marrow stem cell donors.
By educating healthy, caring and committed people they hope to increase the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR).
Matching donors and patients requires both to have a similar DNA. It is very unlikely that a leukaemia patient, in need of a transplant, will find their donor match outside their own ethnic group and with the odds of finding a match being 1:100 000, it is vital that SABMR is increased, as it currently only has around 66,000 donors.
Many people are not aware that it only takes two test tubes of blood to join the registry and that if you are a perfect donor match for a leukaemia patient, bone marrow is not surgically removed. The process to donate bone marrow stem cells is much like donating blood but can take four to six hours.
“The question most strangers ask themselves is – ‘If I stop to help, what will happen to me?’,” explains Stephanie Berry, spokesman for the Sunflower Fund in Durban. “The Good Samaritan would reply: ‘If I don’t stop to help, what will happen to that person?”
“It costs The Sunflower Fund R2,000 to test the blood of every person who joins the registry. If you are able to donate towards the cost of the test, it is much appreciated, otherwise donors can ask to be sponsored in full by The Sunflower Fund,” said Stephanie.
If you are between the ages of 18 and 45, weigh over 50kgs with a BMI of <35 and no history of sexually transmitted diseases and would like to find out more about becoming a bone marrow stem cell donor to help anyone suffering from a life-threatening blood disorder, contact the Sunflower Fund toll free on 0800-12-1082 weekdays between 8.30am and 4.30pm or visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za.
The students also encourage the public to join the South African National Blood Service this June and celebrate those who contribute to saving the lives of others.
To find out more about World Blood Donor Day and Blood Donor Month visit www.SANBS.org.za or call 0800-11-9031.
