This Diwali, Light a Diya
This Diwali, Light a Diya. Save a Life.
Why Your Community Needs You:
A simple cheek swab could give someone the chance to celebrate many more Diwalis. We need more South Asians on the global stem cell donor registry. Because tissue matching is deeply tied to genetic ancestry, patients of South Asian heritage face a severe shortage of registered donors worldwide
Only 30% of patients find a matched stem cell donor within their own family. The rest depend on unrelated donors from the stem cell registry, and matching is closely linked to ethnicity, making it especially hard for patients of Indian heritage to find a donor. Although India has over 1.4 billion people, only around 0.1% are registered as potential donors
Every 27 seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with blood cancer. Patients are likely to find a match with a donor of the same ancestry:
- White patients have a 79% chance of finding a match,
- Native American patients at 60%,
- Hispanic/Latino patients at 48%,
- Asian & Pacific Islander patients at 47%,
- Black/African American patients with at 29%.
Your tissue characteristics could make you the perfect match for someone in need of a blood stem cell transplant.
Everyone between the ages of 18-55 in general good health, with a BMI under 40, and not already registered can sign up as a potential donor.
How Do I Register?
Everyone between the ages of 18-55 in general good health, with a BMI under 40, and not already registered can sign up as a potential donor.
It’s Simple to Save a Life:
- Click on “Register now” and fill in the registration form
- Get a free swab kit sent to your home
- Swab your cheeks, send the swab kit back, and you’re in the registry
There are Two Ways you can Donate:
