Friday September 20, 2024
Australia is facing a critical shortage of registered stem cell donors – and the solution lies in the hands of younger Australians.

On World Marrow Donor Day tomorrow, the Leukaemia Foundation and Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) are joining forces to encourage all Aussies, aged between 18 – 35, to do one simple action – sign up to become a stem cell donor.

At any one time, there are around 1,000 Australians urgently waiting to receive a suitable living donor match as part of their life-saving treatment [i].

Approximately 90% of those waiting for a stem cell transplant, also known as a bone marrow transplant, are blood cancer patients.

Leukaemia Foundation CEO, Chris Tanti, said that with the Australian donor pool not meeting local patient needs, its severely compromising many patient’s chances of survival.

“More than 19,500 Australians will be diagnosed with blood cancer this year [ii], and around 20 per cent of those will need a stem cell transplant to survive their diagnosis,” said Mr Tanti.

“With a significant lack of local donors in Australia from diverse cultural backgrounds, Australian patients are increasingly dependent on overseas donors to meet demand.

“Some Australian patients are waiting for a suitable donor match for over a year, which can compromise their chances of beating an often-deadly disease like blood cancer.”

Unlike many other transplanting nations, who on average have halved their dependency on foreign donors in the last decade, Australia’s dependency has steadily increased to around 8 out of 10 patients relying on an overseas donor [iii].

According to ABMDR CEO, Lisa Smith, Australia’s only stem cell registry urgently needs to recruit more local donors. In particular, donors that are reflective of Australia’s diverse population to help improve the chances of some Australians finding their life-saving match.

“Australian patients that need a transplant expect and deserve the highest standards of care,” said Ms Smith.

“This standard cannot be met while some patients miss out on finding a donor simply because of their ancestry.

“While the Australian registry reflects the diversity of the Australian population reasonably well, there are simply not enough young donors to meet the needs of Australian patients.

“There is a critical need to widen the donor pool in this country and ensure more donors are available to find the best possible match for each patient requiring a transplant.”

A patient’s chances of finding a suitable donor match significantly increases when there are lots of donors that share the same ancestry.

Unfortunately, many people are not able to find a match within their family and live with hope that there’s someone on the international registry who is compatible.

Ms Smith added; “Around 1,200 new patients come to us every year for an unrelated donor search [iv].

“Although there are 42 million stem cell donors worldwide [v], sadly some Australian patients still have difficulty in finding a suitable donor anywhere in the world.

“This is especially concerning for First Nations patients who are particularly dependent on the Australian registry.”

The ABMDR’s Strength to Give cheek swabbing initiative is an easy, straightforward, and cost-effective way to recruit Australian donors from all cultures, aged 18 – 35. The stem cell donation process is also simpler than many people think.

“We often hear of suitable donors that are resistant to signing up to the registry as they worry the stem cell collection procedure could be painful. However, in most cases it isn’t,” said Ms Smith.

“Most stem cell donations generally involve a process similar to donating plasma, which comprises of taking blood from one arm, collecting the stem cells, and returning the blood through the other arm.”

Leukaemia Foundation CEO, Mr Tanti added; “This simple procedure can save a life, and we strongly encourage all eligible Australians to sign up to the stem cell donor registry today.

“More donors mean more matches and more hope for Australians living with blood cancer.”

World Marrow Donor Day occurs in Blood Cancer Month with the Leukaemia Foundation’s new campaign, A Fair Go, aiming to address barriers to Australians receiving the best possible care, support, and treatment – including stem cell transplants – throughout their blood cancer experience.

On World Marrow Donor Day, you can help save the life of an Australian fighting blood cancer by signing up to become a stem cell donor at Strength to Give –
strengthtogive.org.au/leukaemiafoundation.

If you are living with blood cancer, undergoing treatment, or a carer, please contact Australia’s blood cancer support line for more information on stem cell transplants or becoming a donor, by calling 1800 620 420 or visit bloodcancer.org.au.

 

References

1. ABMDR MatchPoint
2. https://www.aihw.gov.au/
3. www.abmdr.org.au
4. ABMDR MatchPoint
5. World Marrow Donor Association, statistics.wmda.info