| Sunflower Fund |
 Imagine being diagnosed with leukemia? For many this is just unthinkable, but each year thousands of South Africans (mostly children and teenagers) have to face this terrifying reality.
Fortunately, life-threatening blood disorders such as leukaemia, aplasia, immune deficiencies, inborn errors of metabolism, and other new indications such as auto-immune disorders can now be treated. Treatment, however, entails a bone marrow/stem cell transplant from a willing donor and although it is sometimes possible for relatives to offer the closest matches, 75% of patients will not have a suitable sibling and will have to start their search for a matching non-related donor.
Where to start? To facilitate this daunting search, bone marrow registers in different countries hold tissue type information of volunteers who have provided small blood samples for testing and recording. Sadly, the chance of finding a matching donor is just 1 in 100 000! The Sunflower Fund was formed in 1999 in support of the SABMR and was inspired by Chris Corlett and Darren Serebro's heroic struggle against leukaemia. It was formed by parents whose children had contracted leukaemia, and in some cases had lost their battle against it. Their aim was to secure financial support in order to increase the number of bone marrow stem cell donors in South Africa. With the odds of finding a donor being 1:100 000, the idea is to expand the registry to at least 100 000. You can help by joining the SABMR. All you have to do to be registered on the SABMR is to give two tubes of your blood. We need your fast response and long-term commitment.*This information was taken from: www.sunflowerfund.org.za |
