VIJAYAWADA, India, September 13, 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, today organized a very special and emotional event. Chaitanya, a 32-year-old young IT professional working in Hyderabad, met the 7-year-old Yoka Sarvesh from Dindugal, whose life he saved by donating his blood stem cells.
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The event was graced by Dr. Kamineni Srinivas Garu, Hon. Minister for Health Education & Family Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Also present along with him were Dr. Y. Raja Rao, Chairman, AP Medical Council, Dr. P. Gangadhara Rao, President - IMA of Andhra Pradesh, Dr. S. Appala Naidu, Registrar - Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences.
Yoka was diagnosed with Thalassemia Major when he was just 4 months old and he needed regular blood transfusions till he could find a life-saving blood stem cell donor.
Chaitanya registered with DATRI in 2012, during an awareness session conducted in Hyderabad in 2016. Within 4 years of registering, he received a call from the NGO informing him that he was a perfect match for a child with a serious blood disorder. Strongly supported by his family, Chaitanya 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 in supporting me in my decision. I can say with pride that I experienced one of the biggest joys of my life in meeting Yoka, who is leading a healthy life because of a small effort on my part," said a beaming young Chaitanya.
A very emotional Angu Raj, Yoka'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 that person who is now a part of our lives and will always be in our payers. 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 are kept anonymous for one year. Both the recipient and donor expressed their desire to meet each other. So, when the doctors declared that Yoka Sarvesh was completely cured, DATRI facilitated the meeting between the two and their families.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest, Dr. Kamineni Srinivas Rao Garu, hon. Health Minister of Andhra Pradesh, said, "A common man can become a lifesaver to patients suffering from fatal blood disorders like Blood cancer, Thalassemia Major by donating Blood Stem Cells." For patients who could not find a match within their family, there was no hope, it is only with help of registries like DATRI that there is a ray of hope for such patients."
Parents of Blessy, a 4-year-old kid from Pidugurala and Kartik, an 8-year-old kid from Tenali, have made an appeal during the event requesting people to register as potential blood stem cell donors; these kids are suffering from Thalassemia and are waiting for matched donors.
It is appalling to know that only 57,308 donors are registered with DATRI as potential blood stem cell donors from Telugu states and 43,966 from Andhra Pradesh, a state with 52.5 million population. This definitely calls for more awareness about the importance of saving lives through blood stem cell donation for blood cancer patients.
DATRI is happy to share that out of its 294 donations, 63 donations were done by Telugu-speaking donors.
"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 to this. As a registry, we are immensely motivated to spread the awareness on the significance of becoming a blood stem cell donor so that many more lives can be saved," 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 over a 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 Donor's 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 1,340 patients waiting to find their life saviours in the registry. DATRI has more than 2,81,000 registered voluntary donors and has facilitated 294 blood stem cell donations including 35 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, http://www.datri.org.
Media Contact:
Srujana Sri Phani.G
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Marketing and Communications
DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry
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