THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sai Sachin, a 22-year-old medical student from Kattakada in Thiruvanathapuram district, volunteered to donate his stem cell to save the life of a patient suffering from blood cancer. His gesture ha s come when thousands of patients are struggling to find stem cells for their treatment.
Sachin registered as a potential blood stem cell donor during a donor registration drive conducted by DKMS BMST Foundation India, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders such as Thalassemia and Aplastic Anemia.
“It was indeed a very happy moment for me when I came to know that I have been found a match for a patient. As a future healthcare provider, I was aware of the challenges faced by blood cancer and blood disorder patients. That did serve as a fuel to go forward,” said Sachin.
“Blood stem cell donation might be complex on paper but, in fact, the process is simple. It is similar to the blood platelet donation. My blood stem cells were taken through the peripheral blood stem cell collection (PBSC) method. I was connected to a machine that drew blood out of one arm, filtered the stem cells, and returned the blood back into my other arm. The whole process took around four hours,” he added.