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Registering is free and simple, and if you’re between the ages of 17 and 55 and in good health, you could be the match these families are waiting for.
Stem Cell text with blood sample. Top view isolated on black background. Healthcare/Medical concept. Picture: iStock
DKMS Africa, a non-profit organisation committed to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders, is appealing to potential donors to help save two young lives.
Two-year-old Oyintando and 21-year-old Zachary are urgently searching for matching donors to survive.
Two young lives on hold
Following numerous hospital visits, Oyintando was initially diagnosed with Cytomegalovirus (CMV), which is a common and usually harmless virus that causes problems in babies and people with weakened immune systems.
After six weeks of treatment, a follow-up referral led doctors to finally diagnose him with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome. This is a rare, life-changing genetic disorder that weakens the immune system and affects blood clotting.
“I was terrified when I heard the diagnosis,” says his mother, Bonakele, who had lost another child years earlier to similar symptoms. “The doctors explained everything to me, and over time, I had to come to terms with the reality.”
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21-year-old Zachary, a third-year student at Nelson Mandela University, had his life change overnight in February 2025. He went on a routine visit to check on low blood pressure but ended up leaving with an Aplastic Anaemia diagnosis. This is a condition where the bone marrow fails to produce enough new blood cells.
He now relies on weekly transfusions and has undergone multiple rounds of medication. Unfortunately, none of his family members are suitable donors.
You Could Be the Match
“Both Oyintando and Zachary urgently need stem cell transplants, and their survival depends on the generosity of others,” says Palesa Mokomele, head of Community Engagement and Communications at DKMS Africa
Ways to help
Members of the public can learn more and register as potential donors at https://www.dkms-africa.org/save-lives. The process is free, simple, and non-invasive, and one registration could mean the difference between life and death for patients like Oyintando and Zachary.
In different corners of South Africa, two families are holding onto hope, united by a desperate need for a stem cell donor who could give their loved ones a second chance at life.
