Kriti Urgently Needs a Blood Stem Cell Donation to Survive

BENGALURU, 23 JUNE, 2020 (GPN): Kriti, a 22-year-old ambitious girl from Hazaribagh, Jharkhand has been diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a fatal blood cancer. She is being treated in Delhi where doctors have recommended a blood stem cell transplant as an only option of treatment.

To spread the word and reach out to more and more people, DKMS BMST Foundation India, has launched a virtual drive for Kriti where one can register online to be a potential lifesaver and save patients like Kriti.

Kriti was diagnosed with blood cancer when she was 12-year-old and is on medication for the last 10 years. She has been struggling to survive each day but has now reached a point where a stem cell transplant is her only chance at survival. Her stem cell transplant will only be possible if she finds a matching blood stem cell donor.

As per Dr. Dinesh Bhurani, Director, Department of Haemato-oncology & Bone Marrow Transplantation, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Center, New Delhi, “In India, every 5 minutes someone is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer or other blood disorder. Many patients cannot survive without a life-saving stem cell donation and the search for a donor is the start of a race against time. The faster a suitable donor is found, the better the chances of survival for patients, like in the case of Kriti. Patients and donors of Indian origin have unique HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) characteristics that are severely under-represented in the global database, which makes the probability of finding a suitable donor even more difficult. This increases the need for more people of Indian ethnicity to register themselves as a potential stem cell donor and help save a life.”

DKMS-BMST, a non-profit organization dedicated to fight against blood cancer and related disorders is coordinating the search for a matching donor.

“We are determined in saving lives and we cannot let the current pandemic crisis to slow down our efforts. Patients such as Kriti are still in critical need of an unrelated matching donor, so, through this virtual drive we want to appeal to everyone between 18 to 50 years of age to come forward and register to be a potential donor”, said Patrick Paul, CEO, DKMS BMST Foundation India.

Adding into the appeal Kriti said, “Leukemia slowed me down, but I want to overcome it, study more and become a fashion designer so that I can own a designer boutique someday. I am prepared with a checklist of ‘things must do’ that I aim to accomplish in my life. This virtual drive has given me a new hope that I might find my matching donor soon. My parents have taught me to be kind and help anyone who is in need. Today, I seek your help, it just takes five minutes of your time to sign up, please do register with this simple process of filling a web form and submitting a cheek swab, to help me and other blood cancer patients like me”.

Vivek, Kriti’s brother who is leaving no stone unturned to save his sister’s life says, “Kriti is the charm of our family and a strong person too! Her medicines have weakened her body but not her fighting spirit. There is a lack of awareness among people on blood stem cell donation and hence there aren’t many registered potential donors. None of my family members are an HLA-match for her, so, our only option is to find an unrelated donor. We request people to please come forward and register online as a potential blood stem donor and give a chance to my sister to achieve her dreams. Your one swab can give us a lot of hope.”

People who are interested and fit the eligibility criteria can register at: www.dkms-bmst.org/kriti

When you are ready to register, all you need to do is complete a consent form and swab the inside of your cheeks to collect your all-important tissue cells.

DKMS laboratory will then analyze your tissue type and your details will be available in the global search for blood stem cell donors. If you do come up as a suitable donor, DKMS-BMST will get in touch with you straight away. Once you come up as a match, blood stem cells will be obtained from the bloodstream using a procedure called Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Collection, which is similar to a blood donation wherein only your stem cells are taken. This is a very safe, non-surgical outpatient procedure. ENDS