W hen a person is diagnosed with or f inds out that a loved one has a l i fe-threatening i l lness, i t has a devastat ing ef fect on them.

For many, only a stranger can help… and i t could just be you.

ER24 of ten at tends to pat ients who wi l l only survive wi th the help of a donor.

Be i t blood or bone marrow stem cel ls, more donors are def in i te ly needed in South Afr ica.

As part of Bone Marrow Stem and Leukaemia Awareness Month, ER24 spoke to Lauren Corlet t f rom The Sunf lower Fund.

She said, “Dread diseases l ike leukaemia af fect people al l over the wor ld, regardless of background, locat ion, ethnici ty, age or weal th. Every year, thousands of South Afr icans are devastated with the news that they have been diagnosed with a l i fe- threatening blood disorder such as leukaemia.

“In the major i ty of cases, a bone marrow stem cel l t ransplant is a pat ient ’s only hope of survival . They are faced with the daunt ing and traumatic task of f inding a matching donor.”

Bone Marrow is regarded as a factory for the product ion of red blood cel ls to carry oxygen, whi te blood cel ls to f ight infect ion and platelets to prevent bleeding. “Leukaemia is the massive over product ion of defect ive whi te blood cel ls, which displace normal ‘heal thy’ red and white cel ls and platelets and as a resul t , weakens the body. Many of these pat ients have to undergo bone marrow stem cel l t ransplants however, f inding a donor is di f f icul t . Your perfect match would be your ident ical twin but we are not al l that lucky,” said Cor let t .

There is a one in four chance that a s ibl ing may have inher i ted the same t issue type. For 75 percent of pat ients, they would have to search for an unrelated matched donor on the South Afr ican Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR).

Cor let t said that when a pat ient is searching for a match, they are in essence looking for a “genet ic twin” - a person who carr ies the same genet ic markers as their own.

“Finding the correct donor match depends on t issue type because people’s genet ic makeup is so var ied and their t issue types are inher i ted character ist ics. The chance of f inding a sui table match is s l im. In South Afr ica we have even more unique combinat ions of t issue types

Why you should become a bone marrow donor and therefore, we need

a larger registry that proport ionately ref lects these unique t issue types,” said Cor let t .

She added that i t is a lmost impossible for a pat ient of a part icular race to be matched with a donor of another race. “ I f you become i l l wi th a blood disorder that requires a stem cel l t ransplant, your race is of paramount importance.

“When doing a search, we would only look in your ethnic group. I t is purely DNA based and has nothing to do with your blood group,” she said.

Founded in 1999, The Sunf lower Fund’s object ive is to increase the number of and access to unrelated bone marrow stem cel l donors on the SABMR.

With the chance of f inding a sui table donor being only one in 100 000, Cor let t said that the just over 70 000 people registered on the SABMR is a far cry f rom where i t should be. I t would be ideal to have in excess of 400 000 potent ia l donors on the registry.

“ I t is imperat ive that The Sunf lower Fund grows this database to of fer hope for pat ients suf fer ing with l i fe- threatening blood disorders l ike leukaemia. We recrui t new heal thy donors dai ly, whi le other donors come off the registry due to age or heal th issues.

“Unfortunately the f ie ld of bone marrow transplantat ion is complex and a number of pat ients st i l l d ie of compl icat ions despite the best medical care. Increasing numbers of successful t ransplants are being carr ied out using matched unrelated donors. Donors can be assured that they of fer the hope of a future to pat ients whose disease would almost certainly otherwise prove fatal ,” said Cor let t .

A common misconcept ion is that there are costs involved in becoming a donor. Cor let t said there are no costs for the donor as The Sunf lower Fund raises funds to pay for these tests costs. “Financial contr ibut ions are cr i t ical to the fund being able to cont inue with i ts important work. Each test costs The Sunf lower Fund R2 000 per person. We rely heavi ly on donat ions f rom the publ ic at large. Funds to cover the cost of t issue typing al l new donors jo in ing the SABMR are raised

through campaigns l ike Nat ional Bandana Day,” said Cor let t .

The Nat ional Bandana Day campaign launches on 15th August and runs unt i l the end of October. ER24 and The Sunf lower Fund encourage the publ ic to buy a bandana and wear i t to show their support towards the brave f ight that these pat ients face on a dai ly basis.

The Sunf lower Fund urges people to jo in the nat ional registry.

Ideal ly someone who is a commit ted blood donor is a perfect candidate to become a bone marrow stem cel l donor. However, i f you are between 18 and 45 years old, weigh over 50 ki logrammes with a Body Mass Index (BMI) less than 40 and in excel lent heal th, you can sign up on the registry to become a potent ia l donor.

I f you are interested in becoming a bone marrow stem cel l donor, cal l The Sunf lower Fund tol l f ree number on 0800 12 10 82. The Fund wi l l g ive you the informat ion you need, go through some medical cr i ter ia and take your detai ls.

You wi l l be directed to your closest blood cl in ic to have your blood sample drawn. Two test tubes of blood wi l l be drawn from your arm then sent to the lab for analysis and f inal ly resul ts sent to the registry. You may or may not receive a cal l to say that you are a potent ia l donor. You wi l l be registered unt i l you turn 60 years old when you are natural ly removed from the database.

Vis i t www.sunf lowerfund.org.zafor more informat ion.