Aquarium dive to celebrate global charity

Sign up on World Marrow Donor Day

ADVENTURER and Sunflower Fund ambassador Riaan Manser will make a daring statement to thank stem cell donors around the world by diving into the Ocean Exhibit at the Two Oceans Aquarium, which is home to rays, musselcrackers, green sea-turtles, a giant guitar fish and more.

The Sunflower Fund said since the first bone marrow transplant performed in the 1950s, over a million patients had received transplants of blood stem cells for the treatment of a wide variety of blood cancers and other diseases of the blood and bone marrow.

Often, transplantation using healthy cells from a donor may be the only chance of a cure, and when there is no suitable donor within a family, an unrelated donor from a completely different part of the world might be the best match for the patient.

The 5th World Marrow Donor Day is on Saturday, with Manser joining in the global celebrations at the Two Oceans Aquarium.

“Diving into this exhibit, which holds 1.6 million litres of seawater, is my way of making a statement to people to face the fear of the unfamiliar and make the bold, yet simple, decision to become a stem cell donor.

“Achieving incredible and memorable moments like coming face to face with some of the incredible inhabitants of our oceans seem to fade into insignificance in comparison with saving a life, like many stem cell donors have done globally,” Manser said.

The World Marrow Donor Association’s global network of organisations made co-operation and a global exchange of information possible, he said.

The network of organisations represents about 32 million blood stem cell donors from 55 different countries.

A bone marrow or blood stemcell donor is a volunteer adult who is willing to donate blood stem cells for blood stem cell or marrow transplantation to a patient in need of a life-saving transplant.

The Sunflower Fund’s chief executive, Alana James, said over the years more than 75 000 people had responded to the call to become donors.

“We thank all our donors for being willing to save a life, and we call on others out there who have not yet registered to act now and become donors,” James said.

To find out more about being a donor or to join The Sunflower Fund’s stem cell registry, call 0800 12 10 82 or visit www.sunflowerfund.org.za