Datri Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry, an NGO with country-wide operations, has announced completion of 50 unrelated blood stem cell donations in India. The 50th donation was conducted at Narayana Multi Specialty Hospital and Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre’ on February 1, 2014.

The registry has currently 48,000 genetically typed volunteer donors in the database from across the country. In the last two years alone, it received 1,485 search requests and has facilitated 50 donations.

Blood stem cell transplant is the only curative option for several blood related disorders such as various forms of Leukaemia (ALL, AML, CML), sickle cell anaemia, primary immune deficiency, thalassemia and certain metabolic disorders like Hurlers.

There is very low awareness about Peripheral Blood Stem Cell donations (PBSC) and very few registered donors in India. As a result the probability of finding an unrelated donor for an Indian patient is very low.

The goal of the transplant is to rebuild the recipient's blood cells and immune system and hopefully cure the underlying ailment. In case a patient needs a transplant, there is only 25 per cent chance of finding a match within his family. However, 75 per cent of patients do not find a suitable donor in their family. In such cases there is a need to find an unrelated donor through the donor registries. With very few registered donors available in India, the possibility of finding a match for an Indian anywhere in the world is low. The Registry is creating a diverse database of potential donors that can be accessed by patients in anywhere in the world, in need of a stem cell transplant.

The 50 of the 1485 patients, who approached our registry for a matched unrelated donor, have found a match, and the rest are still looking for a match. We need more committed donors to register just to help find a match for the patients currently waiting for a donation. We are conducting road shows across India in a bid to spread awareness about the procedure and motivate people to join this life-saving campaign,” said Raghu Rajagopal, CEO, Datri.

“Blood stem cells transplant is a potential life saviour for those suffering from different types of blood cancers and genetic disorders like thalassemia. However, without a genetically typed and matched donor, we cannot use this option. Datri is filling this gap by enlisting willing donors and facilitating donations. The process of donation is simple and safe, and we need more people to come forward and register as potential donors so that we can save more lives”, said Dr Sharat Damodar, senior consultant haematologist and head, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit Narayana Multi Speciality Hospital and Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre.