Have you ever heard of Thalassemia?
Thalassemia is a blood disorder involving lower-than-normal amounts of an oxygen-carrying protein. Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder characterised by less oxygen-carrying protein (haemoglobin) and fewer red blood cells in the body than normal.
If we go by statistics of thalassemia cases reported in India, the diagnosis of this blood disorder is very commonly found in the children of our country. This raises an alarm to wonder how we can save our future generation from this life-threatening blood disorder.
Every year many NGOs, Blood Banks, Medical Colleges, Blood Donation Camps are organised on 08th May which marks World Thalassemia Day, to provide more blood donations for thalassemia patients who require frequent blood transfusions to sustain their health on a short term basis. Doctors have significantly proven that a blood stem cell transplant for thalassemia patients can be a very good option to give them a normal healthy life. To do a blood stem cell transplant, every thalassemia patient needs a perfect matched unrelated blood stem cell donor to donate lifesaving cells and to give a second chance at life. Many children are waiting to find their 1in 10,000 to One in a Million blood stem cell donor who could save their life.
DATRI is India’s largest Blood Stem Cell donor registry which is helping blood disorders patients including Thalassemia. To date, DATRI has found a match for more than 220 Thalassemia patients which is not a huge number when compared to the patient waiting for the match. DATRI creates awareness among Schools, Colleges, Corporates and Communities and registers volunteer donors who are willing to donate their Blood stem cell if they match any patient, this helps us to create a database of the huge volunteer donor who is eagerly waiting to donate.
Some of the many Thalassemia patients who are waiting for their perfect unrelated matched donor are:
Viswa Solanki: 13-year-old Vishwa Solanki is from Surat. She is very passionate about painting and posing for pictures. She was diagnosed with Thalassemia at a very early age and has been going through painful blood transfusions every 20 days to survive. She now needs a lifesaver, who can donate their Blood Stem Cells to give her a second chance at life!
Gohil Khyatiba: 2.5-year-old Gohil Khyatiba is the only daughter of her parents. Unfortunately, when she was just an infant she was diagnosed with Thalassemia Major, a disease that requires a periodic blood transfusion, which is painful and expensive. Her father is working as a clerk at the district court in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
Niya Fathima: Niya Fathima is a 6-year-old kid who lives in Kerala, suffering from Thalassemia Major. Niya is the only kid of her parents. She loves to dress up and act in Reel videos. She has to undergo blood transfusions every 2 weeks to keep her alive.
Sai Nitin: Seven-year-old Sai from Kolhapur (Maharashtra) was diagnosed with Thalassemia when she was eight months old. Every fifteen days, she must undergo a blood transfusion.
Vipul: Ten-year-old Vipul Lalbhai Chaudhary was first diagnosed with Thalassemia when he was a two-month-old baby. His entire childhood has been very challenging, with blood transfusions every month to sustain his medical condition.
Himanshi: Seven-year-old Himanshi, needs your help to save her life. Register as a blood stem cell donor to be her one in a million matched donor that will gift her a second chance to live. She was diagnosed with Thalassemia when she was 6 months old. Every month she needs a blood transfusion. Every month she has to travel almost 100 km for a blood transfusion. Her childhood has been very difficult for her as well as her family.
Akib: Two and a half years, Akib, is still waiting for his one in a million donor to step forward and help him. A Blood Stem Cell Transplant will help him survive and lead a near-normal life, but unfortunately, he has not found a matching donor.
Darshil Soni: Eleven-year-old Darshil Soni from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, was diagnosed with Thalassemia Major. He needs your help to find his matched unrelated blood stem cell donor to give him a second chance at life.
Take an oath, to join us in our lifesaving mission by not only registering with DATRI but also by spreading and creating more awareness so many more people can join us and help us to find more match donors for these thalassemia kids. You can be a lifesaver; register with DATRI to be a one in a million donor to gift someone a second chance at life.
About DATRI:
DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry, a not-for-profit organisation, has facilitated more than 956 Blood Stem Cell Donations to date. The journey began in the year 2009 to find unrelated matched donors for patients with leukaemia, Thalassemia or blood disorders whose life is dependent on an unrelated donor to survive. DATRI, India’s largest Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry, has more than 4,75,847 donors registered. DATRI is working towards creating a wide and diverse database of potential Blood Stem Cell Donors that can be accessed by any patient living anywhere in the world in need of a Blood Stem Cell Donation. Any healthy individual between the age of 18 years to 50 years can register as a blood stem cell donor with DATRI and potentially become a lifesaver when they’re found to be a match for a fatal blood disorder patient.
