Over 300 students from Bengaluru’s RV College of Engineering lined up to register themselves as bone marrow donors, as part of a campaign conducted by the DKMS BMST Foundation India for World Marrow Donor Day.
“I feel privileged that I was a match for someone and have been able to save someone's life. After I registered as a blood stem cell donor, I was committed since beginning and finally getting that call was a big surprise and unexpected as well. The whole procedure was very smooth and DKMS-BMST was there with me all the time in this process. I appeal to everyone to come forward and register as a blood stem cell donor and give someone a second chance at life,” said Sriharsha Ramachandra, one of the students who took part in the event.
The event was organised by the foundation as part of their ongoing efforts to increase awareness about the need for bone marrow donors. The foundation works to help people understand more about the impact of stem cell donation and transplantation on those who are diagnosed with blood cancer.
“Every 5 minutes, someone in India receives the shattering news that they have been diagnosed with a blood cancer, Thalassemia or Aplastic Anemia. Apart from that, every year, of about 80,000 donor searches initiated across the globe, India has one of the highest ratios of searches that do not result in blood stem cell transplant. For many patients, including children in need of a stem cell transplant, finding a suitable match is extremely difficult. DKMS BMST Foundation India is a global registry aiming to improve the chances of a patient by providing access to a global bank of potential donors. “The representation of Indian population in the registry is minimal. This increases the need for more and more people of Indian ethnicity to register themselves as a potential stem cell donor and help save a life. Every registrant represents hope for all patients and the assurance that they are not alone in their fight with cancer,” said Patrick Paul, CEO, DKMS BMST Foundation India.
DKMS-BMST is a joint venture of the Bangalore Medical Services Trust along with DKMS, an internationally known stem cell donor centre.