December marks the start to the month of joy, and an end to another year. 2021 was definitely a challenging year for all of us but it was even more difficult for blood cancer and blood disorder patients. Blood cancer and blood disorders like Thalassemia and Aplastic Anemia are on the rise and every five minutes, someone in India is diagnosed with the disease.
What most people are unaware of is that blood cancer can be managed, and a patient can have a second chance at life with a blood stem cell transplant. But, due to lack of awareness and myths associated with respect to blood stem cell transplant, India faces a huge gap in demand and supply. For a blood stem cell transplant to succeed, it is important that the HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) of the donor and patient match. Only about 30% of the patients in need of a stem cell transplant as life-saving treatment, are able to find a sibling match, the rest 70% depend on finding a matching unrelated donor.
It is a big challenge that only 0.04% of the Indian population is registered as potential blood stem cell donors which is very less when compared to other countries. Due to which it is extremely difficult for Indian patients to find a matching unrelated donor.
December is the season of giving and what better gift can you give than the gift of life. This new year, you can give the gift of second chance at life to those, by registering as a potential blood stem cell donor. It just takes five minutes of your time to register but it can be lifechanging for someone!
Speaking about her journey of becoming a lifesaver, one of the donors 23-year-old Smita says, “When I came across the initiative of blood stem cell donation, I was very intrigued to know that it can potentially give a patient fighting blood cancer or a blood disorder, a second chance at life. I registered with DKMS BMST Foundation India in January, 2021, and only 9 months later, I got the rare opportunity to potentially save a blood cancer patient’s life.”
Similarly, Prapul registered as a blood stem cell donor when he was just 18-year-old and within a year he came up as a match and donated his blood stem cells to save a blood cancer patient through a peripheral blood stem cell collection (PBSC) process.
Over one lakh people are diagnosed with blood cancer and blood disorders every year in India, while every new registration creates a new hope, we have still a long way to go to help every Indian patient in need.
Any healthy individual between the ages of 18-50 can register online as a potential blood stem donor. Registration requires a sample of cells collected by swabbing the inside of your cheeks. When there is a patient in need of a transplant, a search is then carried out to find an unrelated match. A registry then uses your data to compare specific protein markers (HLA) with HLA markers of patients who need a stem cell transplant.
When you are matched to a patient, you will undergo tests to find if you are medically fit to donate. Blood stem cell donation is done via the Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation process which is similar to blood platelet donation.
Indians have unique ethnicity, thus, adding more potential blood stem cell donors of diverse ethnicity will increase the chances for Indian patients to find a matching blood stem cell donor and get a second chance at life.
The author is CEO, DKMS BMST Foundation India