DT Health: Stem cell donations offer lifeline for blood cancer patients

CHENNAI: Blood stem cell donation serves as a vital lifeline for patients struggling with blood cancers and other blood disorders such as sickle cell disease, aplastic anaemia, and thalassemia.

These conditions impair the body’s ability to generate healthy blood cells, leading to severe health complications.

A stem cell transplant offers a solution by replacing the diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells, allowing the body to resume normal blood cell production and significantly improving the patient’s chances of recovery.

Patrick Paul, CEO of DKMS BMST Foundation India, an organisation that works towards blood cell donation to fight blood cancer and blood disorders, says that blood stem cell donation exemplifies the values of selflessness and compassion, as donors provide a second chance at life to patients suffering from blood cancers and disorders.

“For patients with severe blood disorders and cancers, finding a cure or improving quality of life is critical. It can mean transitioning from a life of pain and frequent hospital visits to one of hope and normalcy. In India, a new case of blood cancer or disorders like Thalassemia or Aplastic Anemia is diagnosed every five minutes. However, finding compatible blood stem cell donors is challenging due to the unique HLA traits of Indian patients, which are underrepresented in global databases. Currently, only 0.09 percent of India’s population is registered as potential stem cell donors,” said Patrick Paul.

Despite this shortage, the future of blood stem cell donation in India looks promising, especially with increasing interest among young donors.

Given India’s youthful population, encouraging more young people to register as stem cell donors is essential for improving the chances of finding suitable matches and saving lives.