Please support Sunflower Day campaign
The Sunflower Fund urges South Africans to help save lives.
Every year, millions of people around the world are diagnosed with cancer.
In 2018, just under 1.5 million new cases of blood cancer were recorded worldwide and according to a special report by Discovery Health released in 2018, cancer causes more deaths in South Africa than HIV/ Aids, TB and malaria combined.
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Leukaemia tops the list of the top five cancers by cost at R281 455 per case on average. Whilst it is good to shine the spotlight on these statistics to raise awareness, The Sunflower Fund want to use Bone Marrow Stem Cell donation and Leukaemia awareness month to remind South Africans that they can do something to change these statistics.
The annual Sunflower Day campaign was initiated 16 years ago to get individuals involved in the fight against blood diseases. The campaign, which is anchored by the sale of the Tube of Hope (TOPE), a multi-purpose accessory, is aimed at raising funds for the recruitment of blood stem cell donors to give hope of a cure to patients diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases like leukaemia who are in need of a life-saving stem cell transplant.
A patient in need of a transplant needs a genetic matching donor. There is only a 25 percent chance that a sibling will be a match. The remaining 75 percent chance depends on finding an unrelated matching donor. The best chance of finding this match is someone from the same ethnic background as the patient. As such, South Africa needs an ethnically diverse registry of committed donors.
The Sunflower Fund pays for the cost of the DNA test to register a donor, which costs R3 100 per donor. All funds raised through the Sunflower Day campaign goes towards these costs.
This year Sunflower Day will be observed on Friday, September 20. TOPES will be on sale from next Thursday, August 1 retailing for R30 at Pick n Pay stores nationwide, selected independent pharmacies and online at Zando (while stocks last).
The design is inspired by the coming together of various African cultures, bringing hope of finding a life-saving match to patients in need of a stem cell transplant. The TOPE comes in 6 vibrant colours each symbolising hope and depicting ‘HopeTags’.
Get your favourite hope tag colour and make a statement in support of those with blood diseases.
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