Be a lifesaver and donate blood stem cells
A cheek swab is the first step to saving someone’s life.
Parents and learners from Kibler Park Secondary School gathered at the school on April 22 to help Owami Mbhele.
He has severe aplastic anaemia (a type of blood cancer) and urgently needs a blood stem cell transplant because the disease has attacked his body.
There were queues where the team from DKMS Africa (an NPO dedicated to fighting blood cancer and blood disorders) helped those who wanted to register.
Valencia Hammond, a DKMS donor recruitment coordinator, said it was important for people to be available to donate as this saves lives for many people like Owami.
“People are given forms to register and then three cheek swabs are taken to find out whether they are the match. The swabs will be sent to a lab for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) testing, and if you are a match you will be contacted,” she said.
If you are identified as a matching donor for a patient, you will be asked to donate your blood stem cells so that the patient can receive a transplant. A blood stem cell transplant is a procedure to replace damaged or diseased bone marrow with healthy (bone marrow) blood stem cells.
The next step involves verification typing and tests for infectious disease markers. A thorough physical examination is also conducted. Tests may include blood tests and or X-rays. Once the tests have been completed, the last step in the process would be the collection of the stem cells.
Remember DKMS Africa covers the cost of registration and welcomes voluntary donations towards these tests. This allows them to allocate their funds to recruit more donors.
Why is your ethnicity important? Donor matches depend on tissue types (HLA), not blood types and these inherited genetic characteristics are often more frequent in a particular race. It is therefore important that people of all races register as donors so that all patients have the opportunity of finding a life-saving donor match.
If you are between the age of 17 and 55 years old and in general good health, register as a potential blood stem cell donor at dkms-africa.org, alternatively contact them on donors@dkms-africa.org or 0800 12 10 82.
