Urgent appeal for young men as stem cell donors

The South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) has sounded a compelling call to young men across the country to step forward and register as stem cell donors.

The urgent appeal is aimed specifically at young adult men aged 16 to 35, a demographic that is currently underrepresented in the registry.

As the nation commemorates Youth Month, the SABMR hopes to inspire a wave of action from this critical age group.

Despite being proven to yield better transplant outcomes and fewer complications, young men constitute a mere 8.9% of registered donors in South Africa.

This figure falls starkly short of the global average of 39%, which can drastically hamper the chances of patients suffering from life-threatening blood cancers, especially within specific ethnic communities.

Jane Ward, deputy director for the SABMR said while they have seen a noticeable increase in the number of youth signing up to the registry, the number of young women registering far outweighs that of their male counterparts.

“Our donor recruitment teams have been specifically targeting schools, universities and colleges over the last two years to spread awareness and sign up younger donors, but male representation is still lagging behind,” said Ward.

According to medical research, stem cell transplants from younger male donors lead to better patient outcomes, including higher survival rates and fewer complications post-transplant.

Stem cells, like other organs, decline in quality with age, making older donors less effective.

“Young male donors are less likely to trigger graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a serious post-transplant complication.

"Additionally, male donors typically yield a higher volume of stem cells, enhancing the effectiveness of transplants and likelihood of successful engraftment. We’ve also found that men have fewer pre-existing conditions versus women, leading to better donor eligibility," said Ward.

Gaelen Naidoo, SABMR donor recruitment supervisor, said while the registry’s main focus was diversifying the donor pool by signing up as many stem cell donors to match the South African demographic, a bigger onus will be placed on recruiting younger males.

“We will be shifting our focus towards more targeted recruitment efforts specifically during Youth Month directed at young men. In this month we will be conducting seven donor recruitment drives at university campuses, high schools and local establishments that youth frequent in Cape Town, Free State, Johannesburg and Durban," said Naidoo.

As the SABMR ramps up its efforts, young South African men are encouraged to take action and consider their potential impact.

Registering to become a stem cell donor is a significant way to contribute to the fight against blood cancers and can save lives.

To find more information about donor registration and to review the exclusion criteria, visit www.sabmr.co.za

SUNDAY TRIBUNE