World Marrow Donor Day, 2024 Version

September 21^st marks the World Marrow Donor Day. The day aims to raise awareness about the importance of bone marrow donation as well as acknowledging and celebrating the contributions of donors, who undergo a voluntary process that can change the lives of patients dealing with difficult conditions.

The Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) domain at MAHAK was founded in 2011. During these years, HSCT domain has been continually in struggle with the challenge of sourcing compatible hematopoietic stem cells for pediatric patients requiring transplants. With only 25% chance of patients finding a suitable donor among family members, siblings, or relatives, made the necessity of a stem cell bank establishment at MAHAK.

At MAHAK, the registration process of stem cell donors initiated in 2017, leading to approximately 12,000 donors’ registration up to now. A potential stem cell donor must undergo a series of steps.

The first step entails registering donor’s information and screening for any underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, infectious diseases, heart diseases, etc. If the initial step runs smoothly, MAHAK experts conduct blood tests on the donor and subsequently document results in the registration file. Now the donor’s required information is available on MAHAK stem cell bank. See? It just needs a call to action!

It should be pointed out that, in case of any HLA matches, there will be extra stages will be performed. If you are keen to know more, you can click on the following link to read MAHAK published post about it.

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Factsheet No.1:

Common early signs of pediatric cancer include unexplained weight loss and bruises, persistent fever and headache, unusual lumps or swelling, and vision problems.