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Jeff Moloi
DKMS is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer. Founded in Germany in 1991 by Dr Peter Harf, DKMS and the organization’s 1,000 employees have since relentlessly pursued the aim of giving as many patients as possible a second chance at life. With over 10.5 million registered donors, DKMS has succeeded in doing this more than 91,000 times to date by providing blood stem cell donations to those in need.
This accomplishment has led to DKMS becoming the global leader in the facilitation of unrelated blood stem cell transplants.
Every 5 minutes, someone in South Africa is diagnosed with blood cancer or blood disorder. A stem cell transplant is the only hope of survival for many of these patients.
DKMS Africa educates and raises awareness about the need for stem cell donors, and well as the importance of recruiting donors to build and maintain a registry of committed donors.
We are currently focused on assisting a patient from the Eastern Cape who is in dire need of assistance.
16-year-old Axola, from Qonce, was recently diagnosed with a blood disorder called severe aplastic anaemia - he requires a stem cell (bone marrow) transplant.
Severe aplastic anaemia is a condition whereby bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells. A stem cell transplant offers the patient a second chance at life.
According to his family, Axola is a fun-loving, sweet boy who enjoys life with family and friends. Prior to the diagnosis, the young, aspiring rugby player began to experience random nose bleeds, had pale skin, earaches and had bleeding of the gums.
News that Axola had a life-threatening blood disease devastated his grandmother and aunt – both of whom have looked after him following his mother’s death when he was only two. News of the severity of his illness caught them completely off guard.
According to DKMS Africa Country Executive, Alana James, Axola’s condition is critical and many patients of African descent and those of mixed race are at a distinct disadvantage due to the low number of registered donors from the black, Coloured and Indian population groups in the global donor database.
DKMS Africa urges everyone to register to grow an ethnically diverse registry in order to give Axola a better chance of finding a perfect match.
WHAT DO WE NEED? You can assist us by becoming a registered donor or donating financially to our NPO.
You can find everything you need to know on our website: dkms-africa.org/
Watch out for the DKMS’s annual Sunflower Day campaign which will be commemorated on Friday, 17 September this year.
The campaign, which is one of DKMS’ biggest fundraising and awareness-raising initiatives, is centred on the sale of a multipurpose accessory called a Tube of Hope (TOPE). All funds raised go towards helping patients in need of a life-saving blood stem cell (bone marrow) transplant and to grow our patient support programme to help patients who cannot afford the cost of the transplant. with life-threatening blood cancers and disorders like leukaemia, sickle cell disease and aplastic anaemia to name a few.
