Join the RCOS Lifesavers Squad!
RCOS is joining hands with DKMS-BMST
Rotaract Club of Navi Mumbai Sunrise and DKMS BMST Foundation India, bring you our quarter-long initiative iStem-Be The Match, which is our contribution towards a cancer-free society.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Every 5 mins someone in India is diagnosed with blood cancer or a blood disorder; which means over 1,10,000 Indians are diagnosed with blood cancer each year.
- India ranks third highest in reported cases of haematological cancers in the world and it remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among children as well.
- A stem cell transplant can be the only chance of survival for many of these blood cancers and blood diseases like Thalassemia, Aplastic Anemia and Sickle Cell Anemia.
- Only 0.09% of Indians are registered as blood stem cell donors. The need for more Indian blood stem cell donors is critical for patients to find a matching donor.
But only 30% of these patients find a matching donor within their family; the rest 70% have to rely on finding unrelated donors. With the shrinking size of families, low representation in the global donor database, and millions of combinations of HLA leading to more diverse ethnicity, finding a match becomes difficult. It is thus crucial to establish linkages between patients and donors for successful transplant procedures.
Every year, blood cancer alone is taking the lives of over 70,000 people in India!
But together, we can help change this; by registering as potential blood stem cell donors, we can help save lives. Donating blood stem cells is purely voluntary and requires a person’s commitment to the cause. It is an outpatient process similar to a blood platelet donation. Finding a matching donor is a 1 in a million chance and that is why we need more people registered as potential donors.
You can help blood cancer patients get a second chance at life by registering with DKMS-BMST and registering as potential donors. Order your swab kit now!
You have the power to give someone a second chance at life!
Register nowHow does Blood Stem Cell Donation work?
Where do you fit in?
The representation of Indians on the global registry is very poor. This reduces the probability of a patient trying to find a matching donor. So, when it comes to finding a matching donor, a person with the same ethnic background as a patient may be a better match than one who comes from an entirely different background.
YOU can provide patients in need of a stem cell transplant, hope for a second chance at life by registering as a blood stem cell donor.
When you join the stem cell registry, you give hope to a patient who is in urgent need of a stem cell transplant and provide them with a chance for a healthy future.