Becoming a bone marrow donor can save a person’s life. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find the right donor match for a person in need of bone marrow. The North-West University’s (NWU) School of Nursing aims to alleviate this challenge, one step at a time.

According to senior lecturer Dr Tinda Rabie, the school is building on its success in assisting one of the NWU’s students, Pieter Goosen, who at the time was in his final year of studies. 

“After he was diagnosed with leukaemia, we held a fundraising event to assist him with medical expenses. He was in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant and the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) could not find a local donor and had to search internationally for a match. When bone marrow is obtained from the international register it is very expensive and for that reason the importance of expanding the South African register was recognised,” she says.

Bone marrow transplants help to cure and treat various other life-threatening illnesses such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, bone marrow failure and genetic blood and immune system disorders. New studies also include multiple sclerosis and many more. There is mostly only a 1:100 000 chance of finding a match, so the more potential donors registered on the SABMR, the greater the chance of saving a patient.

Dr Rabie says new technology has made the whole process of being a bone marrow donor less invasive.

“Firstly, only a mouth swab is done on a potential donor, which is then sent for further testing at SABMR laboratories. Should there be a match to someone in desperate need of a transplant, the SABMR will contact the donor for further arrangements, after which bone marrow cells are obtained through a cell separator machine. These cells could then potentially save a person’s life.”

There is a massive need for bone marrow donors, and so the NWU’s School of Nursing has launched an initiative to create more awareness among potential donors. In collaboration with the SABMR, the school recently hosted a donor information and recruitment drive.

“The interested, eligible candidates who volunteered to be registered as potential bone marrow donors were assisted to complete the necessary forms and do mouth swabs, which were individually sealed in SABMR donor kits. Exceeding our expectations, more than 180 potential donors participated in this initiative,” she says.

She says the School of Nursing wishes to thank the SABMR, staff, nursing students and volunteers for making this day such a success Pieter Goosen, who this year also celebrates the second anniversary since his transplant, also thanks everybody for their loyal support and donations in their effort to offer others a second chance on life.