Become a bone-marrow stem cell donor

Posted on 26 November 2014

The Sunflower Fund is the only NPO in South Africa responsible for the education and recruitment of bone marrow stem cell donors. We spoke to them to find out more.

How do I become a donor?
It’s really simple – all you need to do is call 0800 12 10 82 or visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za. The Sunflower Fund will give you all the information you need, go through some important medical criteria and take your details. You’ll be registered telephonically and then told where your closest testing centre is, where two small tubes of blood are drawn. Your details will remain on the database until you’re 60.

What are the general requirements to become a donor?
• You must be in excellent health and between the ages of 18 and 45.
• You must have no history of Hepatitis or sexually transmitted diseases.
• You must weigh at least 50kg and your body mass index must be below 35.
• You must preferably but not necessarily be a blood donor.
• You must be committed to helping anyone and just the patient who motivated you to join.

What does the test involve?
Two test tubes of blood are drawn from your arm, then processed by the laboratory and finally the result is sent to SABMR. You’ll receive a donor card and you’re officially a registered potential bone marrow stem donor.

Why should I register as a donor?
Every year thousands of South Africans are diagnosed with life-threatening blood disorders, including leukaemia, lymphoma and aplastic anaemia. Seventy-five percent of these patients are under the age of 25. Statistics show that there is a 1 in 4 chance that a sibling may be a match but for 75% of patients this won’t be the case. There are about 67 000 donors on the SABMR and the odds of finding a donor are 1:100 000. You can make a difference.

For more information The Sunflower Fund, call 0800 12 10 82 or visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za.

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.