The biggest need is among black South Africans, says Chris Moir, Donor Recruitment Specialist with The Sunflower Fund. The organisation aims to give all South Africans diagnosed with leukaemia and other life-threatening blood disorders the chance of life, irrespective of their race and financial circumstances.
Currently, the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) donor profile is 71% White, 8% Asian; 6% Coloured and 5% Black. Donor matches depend on tissue types - not blood types - and genetic characteristics are often more frequent in a specific race group. The chances of finding a match currently stand at one in 100,000.
Leukaemia, the common name for a variety of cancers that form in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow, affects especially young and older people, and is the most prevalent form of cancer in children in South Africa. One in 600 South African children will develop leukaemia and will need treatment, which may include a bone marrow transplant.
The good news though, is that if diagnosed early, 70-85% of children can be cured. In 1969, no child who fell ill with leukaemia, survived. But due to improved early detection and advances in treatment, matters have improved vastly.
But much more still needs to be done. South Africa also has a shortage of clinics to perform stem cell transplants. Dr Jackie Thomson, Director at Alberts Cellular Therapy (ACT) at the Netcare Pretoria East Hospital says that 2 000 procedures should be performed per year for the South African patient population, but only about 100 are actually carried out.
Clinical haematologist, Dr Mike du Toit from the Constantiaberg Haematology Clinic and Bone Marrow Transplant Centre in Cape Town, says that even with their limited resources, South African doctors and clinics are able to offer world-class treatment for leukaemia. "We offer services the rest of Africa can only dream about and we are certainly on par with the UK and the US."
Ensuring that the country's highly effective network of doctors and clinics continue to operate at maximum efficiency - benefitting as wide a pool of patients as possible - is one of the priorities of the Independent Clinical Oncology Network (ICON), a network of South African oncology specialists.
"ICON is committed to improving cancer care across the country and ensuring that more people have access to quality treatment," says ICON Clinical Executive, Dr David Eedes. ICON also works with healthcare funders to reduce the administrative burden and hence cost of treatment.
He says the quest to build top-notch cancer services in South Africa is a joint effort and says doctors, patients, funders, government and organisations like The Sunflower Fund all play a vital role.
The Sunflower Fund is currently running its National Bandana Day campaign in conjunction with Pick n Pay stores. "A bandana costs only R25 and the funds raised go towards paying for the test cost of potential donors to join the SABMR," says Moir. This blood test costs R2,000 per person to process, which is often sponsored in total by The Sunflower Fund. Donors' contributions to these costs are welcomed.
"One of the biggest problems is the huge misconception around bone marrow stem cell transplants. People think we drill into bones, which is totally inaccurate, so there is a lot of stigma. We do a lot of awareness and education campaigns to help recruit donors and explain to them how simple it is to donate bone marrow stem cells in order to save a life," concludes Moir.
