Celebs show the way as bone marrow donors

TWO South African celebrities have used their status to highlight the importance of saving lives through bone marrow donations.

Radio personality and television show host Kuli Roberts and comedian Nicholas Goliath of Goliath and Goliath have signed up with the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) to save the lives of people with leukaemia and other life-threatening blood disorders.

Some patients become so critical that their only way to survive is to receive a bone marrow stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor.

Roberts said she became aware of the problem when the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) did a blood drive at the Kaya FM studios.

“I didn’t know that patients with lifethreatening blood disorders, who cannot find a donor, are kept alive by receiving regular blood transfusions,” she said.

Roberts said she believed people all have a higher cause in life.

“I believe we were all placed on earth to serve a purpose and while we can’t all feed the hungry or clothe the poor, we can register as bone marrow donors,” she added.

Goliath said he did not realise how simple the donation process was.

“Many people have the misconception that the bone marrow donation process is very painful, but this is not the case.

“I was also surprised to learn that the ethnic background of a donor is significant in finding the perfect match for a person needing a bone marrow transplant,” he said.

“I believe many South Africans don’t realise that if more people from every racial group register, a patient has a better chance of finding a match locally. By registering as a bone marrow donor you may be able to be a match for a patient in need of a bone marrow transplant,” Goliath added.

Dr Charlotte Ingram, the Medical Director of the SABMR, said figures showed that there was an urgent need to recruit more donors from all ethnic backgrounds.

She said there were many misconceptions about how bone marrow was extracted from donors.

“Many people still believe bone marrow stem cells are donated by a surgeon drilling into a person’s hip bone, but this is not the case.

“The process of donating bone marrow is very similar to donating blood platelets. Blood, drawn via a needle in one arm or in some instances a central venous line, gets filtered through a cell separator machine, which deposits bone marrow stem cells into a bag. The rest of the blood is returned via a needle in the other arm,” she said.

Ingram said a bag of stem cells would then be used to perform the patient’s life-saving bone marrow stem cell transplant. The process takes about four to six hours and might need to be done over two consecutive days.

Anyone between 18 and 45 can register to donate bone marrow and one can donate until the age of 60.

Anyone interested in becoming a donor can contact their nearest SANBS or Sunflower Fund to undergo the screening process. —