Lifesaving swabs for Alba Overbeeke: Stem cell registration drive

GEORGE NEWS - Potential stem cell donors checked in at Garden Route Mall on Sunday 2 August to have their cheeks swabbed for the international donor registry.

A 10-minute exercise of filling in a registration form and swabbing your cheeks with four cotton buds could one day help to find a lifesaving match for someone battling a life-threatening blood disease such as leukaemia.

Hosted by DKMS Africa, in partnership with Mossel Bay-based creative agency Grindstone and Unfound Garden Route, the registration drive was inspired by the 13-year-old Alba Overbeeke.

Alba is currently undergoing treatment after having relapsed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

If her treatment is successful, she will require a stem cell transplant, making it crucial to find a compatible donor.

While her story sparked the campaign, every new donor added to the registry could become a lifesaving match for a patient anywhere in the world.

Brent Lawrence and Yanelani Mbolompo of DKMS. Lawrence is the father of Joshua le Roux, and he came all they way from Mossel Bay to support this cause and help Alba Overbeeke. Little Joshua has had his own struggles with cancer, but has miraculously healed, says Lawrence. Photo: Michelle Pienaar

Among those supporting the initiative was Brent Lawrence, who travelled from Mossel Bay. His eight-year-old son, Joshua le Roux, has battled cancer three times and has made what Brent describes as a miraculous recovery.

Brent said supporting the donor drive and helping raise awareness for Alba's situation was important to their family. Read a previous story on Josua at the bottom of the article.

George Herald also joined the initiative as two staff members completed the registration process.

Many people are unaware that joining the stem cell donor registry is free and painless. The cheek swab is used to determine a person's tissue type. If a donor is ever identified as a match, around 90% of stem cell donations are collected from the bloodstream in a procedure similar to donating blood or plasma.

DKMS Africa is part of the international DKMS network, one of the world’s largest stem cell donor organisations. Its mission is to give patients with blood cancers and blood disorders the best possible chance of finding a matching stem cell donor by growing diverse donor registries and raising awareness about stem cell donation.

Justin van Wyk, a donor recruiter of DKMS, with Johan van Zyl, busy collecting DNA with a cotton swab. Photos: Michelle Pienaar