KOCHI: Edwin Dominic, 25, has much to cheer about as World Marrow Donor Day is observed on Saturday. A blood stem cell donor, he has saved the lives of two persons with fatal blood disorders. While it is difficult to find matching donors, Edwin became a match to a second patient within two years of his first donation.
Edwin, belonging to Thrissur, who graduated from Christ College, Irinjalakuda, had registered as a volunteer stem cell donor with DATRI, a national adult unrelated blood Stem Donor Registry, in 2016 during a donor registration drive held at the college.
His first blood stem cell donation through bone marrow took place on April 7, 2017 for a five-year-old child with thalassemia.
In June this year when DATRI again approached him to donate for a blood cancer patient, Edwin happily agreed and donated stem cells through peripheral blood stem cell donation method. His act assumes significance as the rate of back-out from matching volunteer don-ors is nearly 40 per cent.
“I never realised the joy of saving a life till I got a chance to see the young child who is leading a happy and normal life,” Edwin said.
“I was surprised when I got the second call from DATRI saying that I’m a match to another patient. With the support of my parents, I have donated for the second time and I will be happy to give again,” Edwin, a bachelor and a job-seeker, added.
The total number of registered volunteers in Kerala is over 90,124 but only 103 have donated till date.
The chances to get a matching donor in the family are 25 per cent. The probability of finding an unrelated matching donor is only one in 10,000 to one in over a million, as the total number of registered volunteer donors is very low.
