A Lifeline for Nim: Urgent Call for More Sri Lankan-Australian Stem Cell Donors At just 28 years old, Nim is facing the fight of his life. Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare and aggressive blood cancer, Nim requires a life-saving stem cell transplant. But despite a global registry of 42 million potential donors, he has yet to find a match. Nim’s best hope lies within the Sri Lankan community. Stem cell matches are determined by genetic markers that are most commonly shared within the same ethnic background. Unfortunately, Australians of Sri Lankan heritage are significantly underrepresented on the stem cell donor registry, making it much harder for patients like Nim to find the match they desperately need. “I was born and raised in Australia, but I am also Sri Lankan. This means that my best chance of finding a match will be someone from the same background as me.” ...

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Be the Match: Help Save My Life and Others in Our Community Source : stemcelldonors.org.au My name is Nim Sundaram, I’m 28 and currently undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. It’s a rare blood cancer that needs intensive chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant to cure. Stem cells are special cells found in everybody that have the potential to regenerate important cells in our blood. My cancer and its treatment wipe out my own stem cells, so I need a healthy person’s stem cells to recover. I was born and raised in Australia, but I am also Sri Lankan. The markers used to check if someone is a stem cell match are passed down through families. This means that my best chance of finding a match will be someone from the same background as me. Right now, there aren’t many people from our community on the stem cell register so finding ...

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