A hub of hope for patients with blood disease
The South Africa Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) is non-profit organisation which is part of a worldwide outreach to facilitate life-saving bone marrow transplants for patients with critical blood diseases.
For about 30% of patients with blood diseases, a matched related bone marrow stem cell donor can often be found within their family. But for the larger 70%, their only hope is to find a matched unrelated donor. And this is done through the SABMR.
Established in Cape Town in 1991, the SABMR is family and community based, but with worldwide connections. And it was initiated to widen the search for this larger percentage of blood disease patients with no familial source of a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
The SABMR is a hub of hope for patients with blood disease. But that hope is given by our donors – volunteer bone marrow donors, and the vital financial partnership given by our supporters.
To date, both have helped us to now have more than 78 000 willing bone marrow stem cell donors on our database.
The chance of finding an unrelated bone marrow match is approximately one in 100 000. But finding that ‘one’ is our shared mission.
Identifying potential unrelated donors is a complex process undertaken by qualified and highly trained SABMR staff members. It is also a costly process – putting us in the hands of good and generous people who fund the process with their financial donations.
With community goodwill and these donations, the SABMR:
Has established and maintains a registry of more than 78 000 volunteer bone marrow donors in South Africa.
Registers newly recruited volunteer donors after testing their buccal swab by various Human Leukocyte Antigen typing laboratories.
Works closely with the registries in 76 countries which collectively list over 41 million donors. This increases the chances of finding matching donors for local patients. Currently, 75% of the donors for South African patients have come from other countries.
Once a match has been found, co-ordinates the collection of bone marrow stem cells, and arranges their transport to transplant centres serving South African patients.
Follows up on the well-being of donors after their donation, as well as the progress of patients who have received the transplants.
Silently keeping us alive
It’s not seen. It’s not heard. It’s not felt. It’s a powerhouse of production that keeps us alive.
It’s our bone marrow.
Bone marrow is the soft, fatty tissue found inside our bone cavities.
And this tissue is home to the stem cells which are responsible for making the components of whole blood.
The red blood cells which carry oxygen throughout our body to keep all our organs functioning.
White blood cells essential to fighting infection.
And platelets which control bleeding.
A largely unsung function of our bodies, bone marrow keeps us alive, until something goes wrong.
This is when the cells are damaged by life-threatening conditions that affect blood. Some common examples are severe anaemia, and blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma.
If standard treatments fail, a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor will be the last possibility.
This brings into play two sets of non-medical, life-saving ‘heroes’ who work alongside the SABMR:
Those people who are registered as willing to donate their healthy bone marrow stem cells for a transplant.
And those people who support the possibility
with their financial donations.