BENGALURU: “I was scared of even injections, but when I heard that donating my stem cell could save someone’s life I went for it. Now, I am thrilled that I have saved a life,” said 20-year-old second-year BCom student from Christ University, who is the youngest stem cell donor in Bengaluru. He has now motivated 200-300 students of his college to register themselves as donors. Stem cell donation helps treating blood-related illnesses like leukaemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anaemia. With very few signing up as donors and the probability of finding a match being a dismal 0.0008 per cent in the country (as against 16 percent abroad), fatalities are mounting every year, experts said.
Suresh Varma, son of S Subramani - a construction industry employee, and Shanti, a cook from Madikeri, had registered himself as a potential blood stem cell donor during a drive organised by the Department of Life Sciences, at Christ University and conducted by DKMS BMST Foundation India.After registering in August 2018, Suresh donated his stem cells in December 2019. He is now on a mission to motivate and encourage his friends, family and relatives.
“I think a large part of the population is unaware that stem cell donation is as simple as blood donation. A few cells from the bone marrow or peripheral blood are extracted with the help of injections. These cells then replace the patient’s cells. The donor’s body replenishes these cells very quickly. Bone marrow is the only organ that can be given away when alive, and anyone in good health, aged between 18 and 35, can donate stem cells. I believe that establishing a government donor registry will add more legitimacy to the process,” said Dr Pooja Prakash Mallya, Paediatric Hematologist, Oncologist and BMT specialist, Narayana Health City.
According to haematologists, for most blood cancer and other blood disorders, especially Leukemia and Lymphomas, blood stem cell transplant is the only treatment available. Suresh said that he went through 40 minutes of counselling explaining the procedure of donation. “I was shown videos, images and also counselled what would happen and how I should not be worried. I was very relaxed through the procedure and there were no complications,” he said.
Only 30% of patients in need of stem cells find a sibling match, while the rest depend on an unrelated donor. Unfortunately, majority of patients do not receive a transplant due to lack of a matching donor.
“We are very happy that Suresh has motivated so many youngsters. We urge many such young men and women to come forward. Their donation can make a difference to many lives,” said a spokesperson from DKMS BMST Foundation.
Painless process
It is called peripheral blood stem cell collection. A course of five injections prior to collection will be stimulated into the bone marrow to increase the number of stem cells and white blood cells in the blood. During collection, you will have a needle in each arm for up to five hours. You will be advised not to lift anything heavy for about two-and-a-half weeks.