CHENNAI, October 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
DATRI facilitated this match and the joy of giving the gift of life
DATRI, India's largest adult unrelated blood stem cell donors registry, organized a very special, emotional event. Amit Mohite from Bengaluru, met 19-year-old Paul Surya from Kanyakumari, whose life he saved by donating his blood stem cells.
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Paul Surya was diagnosed with CML when he was 17 years old and he needed regular blood transfusions till he could find a life-saving blood stem cell donor.
Amit registered with DATRI in an awareness session conducted at Bengaluru in 2015. Within one year of registering he received a call from the NGO informing him that he was a perfect match for Paul. Strongly supported by his family, Amit Mohite was happy to donate his blood stem cells to save a young life.
"I was very happy to hear that I was a potential match for someone. The fact that my little effort could save a life felt like I was the chosen one, I had no questions and I happily went ahead. I am thankful to my family and friends for supporting me in my decision. I can say with pride that I experienced one of the biggest joys of my life in meeting Paul Surya who is leading a healthy life because of a small effort on my part," said a beaming Amit Mohite.
A very emotional Paul's father added, "I do not have words to express my feelings, we have waited for so long to meet the person whose selfless act has resulted in gifting us with the life of my son. And today, we are totally overwhelmed to meet the person who is now a part of our lives and will always be in our prayers. Thank you, DATRI for finding this match and gifting our son back to us."
As per the registry protocol, the identity of donors and recipients is kept anonymous for one year. Both the recipient and donor expressed their desire to meet each other. So, when the doctors declared that Paul Surya was completely cured, DATRI facilitated the meeting between the two and their families.
Speaking on the occasion Dr. Venkataraman Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor, Cancer Institute Adyar said, "We have a huge number of patients suffering from fatal blood disorders for whom the last resort of treatment is blood stem cell transplant. For patients who do not find a match within their family, the only hope is through unrelated blood stem cell donation."
Speaking on the occasion Darasing Khurana, Mr India International said, "I have always heard of organ donation and how it can save a life. When I got to know that I can save a life while I am alive, I extended my support to DATRI right away. I urge you to register as a blood stem cell donor and take the first step towards saving a life."
Parents of Ashvika a two-year-old kid from Ramapuram have made an appeal during the event requesting people to register as potential blood stem cell donors. There are many kids suffering from Thalassemia and are waiting for a matched donor.
It is appalling to know that only 48,893 donors are registered with DATRI as potential blood stem cell donors from Tamil Nadu's 77.8 million population. This definitely calls for more awareness about the importance of saving lives through blood stem cell donation for blood cancer patients.
"Such an occasion is an additional motivation to work harder and make the registry grow. The joy that a recipient's family receives and the satisfaction a donor expresses is in itself a testimony of this. As a registry, we are immensely motivated to spread awareness on the significance of becoming a blood stem cell donor as 1000s of patients are waiting for a match, I urge each and every one to take the first step to save a life by registering with DATRI," says Raghu Rajagopal, Co-Founder & CEO of DATRI.
The probability of finding a matched blood stem cell donor is 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 2 million. Every match is close to a miracle. If a match is found, that donor is probably the only person who can save the patient.
About DATRI
DATRI is India's largest adult unrelated blood stem cell donors registry. Founded in 2009 by Mr Raghu Rajagopal, Dr Nezih Cereb and Dr Soo Young Yang, DATRI's vision is to help every patient seeking a blood stem cell donor find a healthy, willing and genetically matched donor. There are over 1340 patients waiting to find their life saviors in the registry. DATRI has more than 2,86,614 registered voluntary donors, has facilitated 306 blood stem cell donations including 36 donations for international patients. DATRI has serviced patients from 59 transplant centers across the world.
This not-for-profit organization is registered with Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide and is a member of World Marrow Donors Association (WMDA).
For more details please visit, www.datri.org.
Media Contact :
Vineetha Venugopal
[email protected]
+91-8122104157
Executive - Marketing and Communications
DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry
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