DKMS AFRICA

DKMS Africa CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE FOR SOUTH AFRICAN BLOOD CANCER PATIENTS

The DKMS Group is one of the most significant non-profit organisations in the world dedicated to fighting blood cancer and blood disorders. With twelve entities, a global presence in seven countries on five continents and a strong commitment to saving lives, we work tirelessly to connect patients with matching blood stem cell donors. In South Africa, we have launched a Paediatric State Patient Programme under our Access to Transplant pillar. We are working with public hospitals including Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH) and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH).

Our mission is to increase the number of potential donors worldwide, enhance the ethnic diversity of our database, provide life-saving transplants to patients in need, and improve patient outcome of South African patients currently living with and getting treatment for haemotology cases.

Every 72 minutes, someone in South Africa is diagnosed with blood cancer or a blood disorder. Stem cell transplants are a potentially lifesaving treatment for more than 70 different diseases like leukaemia, aplastic anaemia, thalassemia and sickle cell disease and for many patients, a blood stem cell transplant is their only hope of a second chance at life. Only 0.04% of the South African population are registered donors and DKMS Africa recruits diverse stem cell donors to give all patients in South Africa and the world a fighting chance against blood cancer.

To achieve this we need 80% Black, 9% Coloured, 8% White and 3% Indian donors on our donor registry.

The work we do at DKMS Africa extends to creating tactical education and awareness campaigns, going to universities, collaborating with corporate organisations, and organising donor recruitment drives across various communities together with patients and their families. All of this is to help ensure that we are doing the following, which are at the core of our work:

• Raising awareness and educating communities on the effects of blood cancer and blood disorders

• Donor recruitment drives across various communities to help increase the number of diverse donors on the registry

• Assisting with transplantation costs for patients who can’t afford costs associated with transplants

Our stories…

We at DKMS Africa pride ourselves on growing a community of people committed to one cause: fighting blood cancer and blood disorders in South Africa, across the continent and in the world. We are passionate about the patients we serve which is why we believe in telling their stories of hope and survival.

One such patient is Tsakane Mthini , an 11-year-old aspiring netball player, who has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. and would love nothing more than to live out her dream and play for South Africa, the country she so loves. Tsakane's symptoms started in early 2021 (April/May). Her parents initially thought that her weight loss was due to her being a growing child (she had lost a significant amount of weight).

When she started losing her appetite and couldn't keep her food down her parents took her to the hospital.

In January 2022, she was admitted to the hospital and began her treatment once she'd been diagnosed. Her parents were in complete shock when they got the diagnosis. They were initially told that this was a terminal illness so they lived in fear that they would receive tragic news any day that their daughter had passed.

Once they heard that a bone marrow transplant could save their daughter's life they became more hopeful.

Tsakane is struggling to come to terms with everything and even though she doesn't speak openly about her illness her parents can see that she is struggling. Every time she has a headache or she has flu-like symptoms she's immediately retraumatised and begins to think the worst. Tsakane was not able to attend school in 2022 due to her illness, but was able to return in January 2023. Her school has been understanding and very supportive.

Her father gloats that she is thrilled to be back in school and it shows in her spirit.

We also have 26-year-old Londeka Mdletshe who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Her future hangs in the balance as there is currently no match for her on the global stem cell registry. Londeka's journey began with unexplained stomach aches and ulcers in December 2022. Recurrent headaches and shortness of breath followed. This led to countless doctors’ visits which left her feeling hopeless until May 2023, when she received her diagnosis.

Since her diagnosis, she has endured a grueling cycle of hospital admissions and discharges, often spending months confined to a hospital bed. With a 5-year-old daughter, Londeka had plans to further her studies and pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree at UNISA, so as to be able to give her and her daughter a beautiful life. However, due to her declining health, she was unable to actualize her plan.

Working together with different stakeholders, including the South African National Department of Health, we recognise the need to elevate the voices of patients who are living with blood cancers and blood disorders into public discourse.

As DKMS Africa, we aim to assist as many patients as possible and provide them with a second chance at life! Over the past three years, with the help of individuals, the medical fraternity, tertiary institutions, corporates, trusts and foundations, the media and other stakeholders, DKMS Africa has been able to recruit over 80 000 potential life savers and help contribute towards saving the lives of over 1100 000 patients worldwide.

In order to keep making an impact in the lives of blood cancer patients and patients suffering from blood disorders, we need everyone to get involved in many different ways so that we can carry on giving patients a second chance at life!

To find out more about how you can get involved and help us in our fight against blood cancer and blood disorders, visit www.dkms-africa.org

CONTACT DETAILS

Tel: 021 701 0661

Website: www.dkms-africa.org

Email: info@dkms-africa.org

Address: Block C, Grosvenor Square, Century Way, Century City, Cape Town, 7441