India urgently needs stem cell donors to fight blood disorders: Experts

New Delhi, May 27: India is urgently in need of stem cell donors to fight blood cancer that kills over 70,000 lives every year, said experts on Monday ahead of World Blood Cancer Day. World Blood Cancer Day is observed every year on May 28 to raise awareness about deadly cancer and other blood disorders, such as thalassemia and aplastic anaemia, which affect more than a lakh people in the country,

Although conventional methods like chemotherapy and radiation therapy are available, a blood stem cell transplant is the only hope for survival for many blood cancer patients. The health experts noted that every 5 minutes, someone in India gets diagnosed with blood cancer. Yet, the country faces a severe shortage of blood stem cell donors. "Besides being the thalassemia capital of the world, India also has a high prevalence of blood cancers. Stem cell transplants are often the only curative option for these conditions, but finding a compatible stem cell match is difficult, especially in a country as genetically diverse as India," Dr Rahul Bhargava, Principal Director & Chief BMT, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, told IANS. "In India, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer or a severe blood disorder every five minutes. Despite the global registry having over 41 million donors, India has only about 0.6 million registered. Thousands of patients are in dire need of matching stem cell donors to undergo life-saving transplants," added Patrick Paul, CEO of DKMS BMST Foundation India -- a non-profit.