Bandana Day around the corner
According to the Sunflower Fund, educating the public and raising awareness about the South African Bone Marrow Registery (SABMR) is of utmost importance and one of their goals as there is an ongoing need for registered donors.
MBOMBELA – If you think the traditional bandana does not quite fit your style and is just cowboy couture, think again. The classic patterned kerchiefs South Africans know and love have made their way into crafting, fashion, decoration and even pets wardrobes but more importantly, also in surviving.
This year, National Bandana Day, which is one of the Sunflower Fund’s biggest initiatives, will be celebrated on October 12 to help create awareness and raise money to help fight leukaemia and other life-threatening blood disorders.
The Sunflower Fund was established in 1999 with the aim to educate and recruit a viable source of well-informed potential bone marrow stem cell donors who are ethnically diverse, in an effort to save the lives of those needing a transplant when suffering from deadly blood disorders. “The Fund’s work aims to give all South Africans diagnosed with these disorders a better chance of finding matching bone marrow stem cell donors in order for them to be treated and, hopefully, cured,” the foundation stated.
According to the Sunflower Fund, educating the public and raising awareness about the South African Bone Marrow Registery (SABMR) is of utmost importance and one of their goals as there is an ongoing need for registered donors.
Their short-term goal is to increase the SABMR to 100 000. In 2012 they implemented the new molecular (DNA) testing, which is more accurate and more advanced, but also more expensive. According to the fund, they have to dock up R2 000 per test and have to raise over R13 million in order to reach their target.
With this year’s message being, “We all have hopes and dreams for the future,” the Sunflower Fund encourages all people across the country to help them fight for hope by purchasing a bandana.
