BENGALURU: DKMS Foundation India on Thursday announced free HLA typing for children aged below 12 suffering from transfusion-dependent thalassaemia in India, as part of its efforts to improve access to stem cell transplants.
The programme will allow patients and their parents and siblings to provide buccal swab samples for HLA testing to identify matching donors within the family. In cases where no match is found, DKMS will facilitate a free search for unrelated donors through its international registry.
The announcement was made at an event in Bengaluru where 12-year-old Sameeksha, a beta thalassaemia major patient, met her stem cell donor Dilip K, a 27-year-old IT professional from Kolar. Sameeksha, diagnosed in infancy, was dependent on regular blood transfusions before undergoing a stem cell transplant, considered the only curative treatment for the disorder.
DKMS said it also extended partial financial support to Sameeksha’s family to help cover transplant costs.
Doctors at BloodCare Hematology Clinic & Diagnostic Centre said early diagnosis and timely treatment are crucial in managing thalassaemia, but finding matched unrelated donors remains difficult.
India records over 10,000 children born with thalassaemia annually, but donor availability remains limited, making donor registry expansion critical.