Save lives of four children
Bone marrow donor drive
THE South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) has launched a crowdfunding campaign to save the lives of four local children with a bone marrow transplant.
To date, the SABMR has helped save nearly 500 patients with life-threatening blood disorders by matching them with healthy, unrelated bone marrow donors from South Africa and the rest of the world.
For such patients, a stem cell transplant is their only chance of a healthy normal life. But many struggle to cover the donor-related costs of the procedure, which replaces cancer cells and makes new blood cells.
This December, the SABMR is hoping to raise R300000 to enable the transplants through donations-based crowdfunding platform BackaBuddy.
SABMR medical director Dr Charlotte Ingram said the funds raised would benefit a 10-year-old girl with leukaemia, referred by doctors at a state hospital in the Eastern Cape; an 8-year-old boy with a hereditary form of anaemia, who is currently being treated at a state hospital in the Western Cape; and a brother and sister with a hereditary form of anaemia, referred by a state hospital in Limpopo.
This last case is an extremely rare situation where one child in the family was diagnosed with the blood disorder; then shortly afterwards, the parents discovered their other child had the same disorder.
Both children can benefit from a single matched donor.
Any contributions not used in these cases will be directed to new referrals requiring assistance.
“It’s the season of giving, and what is more precious than the gift of life to children who have their whole lives in front of them and have so many more things to experience?
“Our goal is to ensure that every adult and child referred to us can have the best chance at getting that life-saving transplant and go on to lead a full life,” Ingram said.
SABMR sustainability portfolio manager Kamiel Singh said the public could help by making a once-off donation during the “Give a Little, Save a Life” campaign.
This will also give you the chance to win prizes worth a total of almost R100000, including getaways, spa experiences, golf days, wine, restaurant meals and more.
Weekly prize draws will be held throughout next month, January and the first two weeks in February, with the draw for the three big prizes taking place on February 14, the culmination of the SABMR campaign.
“The ‘Give a Little, Save a Life’ campaign went live on November 21 and has so far raised R9202.29. The funds will be managed by the SABMR and donors will also qualify for a Section 18A tax certificate,” said BackaBuddy chief operations officer Catherine du Plooy.
For more information, visit: https://www. backabuddy.co.za/give-a-little-save-a-life