ALARMING DECLINE: 50% OF STEM CELL DONORS REMOVED FROM GLOBAL DATABASE

OCTOBER brings pink ribbons and a wave of awareness campaigns. While we support causes we care about, another lifesaving effort is quietly in trouble: stem cell donations.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

ACCORDING to the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA), nearly half of registered donors were removed from the global database in 2023. | Pexels

(Pexels)

There are more than 43 million registered donors worldwide, but half were recently removed from the registry because their contact details were outdated or for other reasons.

This quiet crisis could mean life or death for many patients.

Let's look at why stem cell donation is important, the challenges involved, and how each of us can make a difference.

Stem cells are the building blocks of life. Found in bone marrow, they are unique in their ability to regenerate and produce new blood cells.

For patients with life-threatening blood disorders like leukaemia, lymphoma or severe aplastic anaemia, a stem cell transplant is often the last hope, a second chance at life when all else has failed.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, a bone marrow transplant involves collecting healthy stem cells from a donor's bone marrow or blood, filtering them, and then transferring them to a patient whose own marrow has been damaged or destroyed.

This procedure has been a game-changer since 1968, saving lives and transforming families.

But here's the catch: matching a donor to a patient is no easy feat. Tissue typing, or Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) matching, is incredibly complex.