Are you someone’s perfect match?
If you’re aged 18 to 35, you can volunteer to be a blood stem cell donor.
Why donate your stem cells?
Over 110,000 Australians (and millions more overseas!) are living with blood cancer. For some, a transplant from a donor with closely matched blood stem cells is their only possibility of a cure. By joining the donor registry, you could be someone’s perfect match and their best hope of survival. That’s a powerful thing!
Can I join through Lifeblood?
If you’re aged 18 to 35 and in good health, probably! If you can give blood, you can volunteer to give stem cells through Lifeblood. In fact, if you can’t give blood, we may still be able to help you register. It’s best to give us a call on 13 14 95 to check.
Did you know?
There’s scientifi c evidence that younger people make the most successful donors. That’s why we need people under 35 to register and increase patients’ chances of fi nding their perfect match. Ethnic diversity is also really important. Patients are more likely to fi nd a match with a donor from the same ethnic background.
Why are blood stem cells important?
It sounds a bit complicated, but it starts with bone marrow. That’s the soft tissue inside bones, and it contains stem cells. Those stem cells make red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. If someone’s bone marrow gets damaged (from leukaemia, a blood disorder, or something similar), a stem cell transplant is often their only hope for a cure.
The problem?
Stem cells have to be from a donor who closely matches the patient — and only 30% of patients have a match in the family. That leaves a lot of people whose only hope is a blood stem cell transplant from a complete stranger. A stranger like you.
How do I join?
You can get started by scanning the QR code below, where you can join Australia’s register of volunteer blood stem cell donors. Then, just book in for a normal blood donation at lifeblood.com.au and you can give a blood sample at the same time. We’ll test your blood sample for your tissue type, which is used to match donors to patients. The result will be recorded on the register.
How are patients and donors matched?
The Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, shares select donor information with patient care teams around the world (but not your identity). When a patient anywhere in the world needs a transplant, the registries are checked for a matching donor. That means you could change the life of your neighbour, someone in Spain, or somewhere in between. The Registry team will contact you if there’s a match and support you through the next steps. Only 1 in 1,500 potential Aussie donors are asked to donate in a year.
How does the donation work?
For most blood stem cell donations (around 90%), it’s a lot like giving plasma with a couple extra steps. First, donors get a short course of injections to make sure their body makes lots of stem cells. The stem cells are then separated from the rest of the blood in a similar way plasma is, just in a hospital. For the other donations — usually when the patient is very young — the bone marrow itself is also needed. In those cases, the donor is given a general anaesthetic in a hospital and a needle into the back of the hip. All donations are safe to do, and you’ll always feel incredible special knowing you helped save someone’s life.
If you’re aged 18 to 35, you can volunteer to be a blood stem cell donor. Hariendre, the adored father of 3 and loving husband to Meeta urgently needs a blood stem cell transplant.
Hariendre has blood cancer, his only hope of survival is to find a matched stem cell donor. While waiting to find a stem cell match, Hariendre is receiving weekly transfusions of blood, platelets and plasma products.
How to join the Stem Cell Register
1. Log into Friends & Fam – Strength to Give | Blood Stem Cell Donation
2. Fill out details
3. Use the appeal code: Harien
4. Submit
You will be sent the swab kit to your door, and it will be linked the unique code. It needs to be done soon please to save Harien’s life.
Did you know?
There’s scientific evidence that younger people make the most successful donors. That’s why we need people under 35 to register and increase patients’ chances of finding their perfect match. Ethnic diversity is extremely important. Patients are more likely to find a match with a donor from the same ethnic background. Hariendre is from Sri Lanka.
