DKMS Africa is rallying South Africans to get Oreokame Sehularo to his 10th birthday; all he needs is a blood stem cell transplant.
South Africa (26 August 2021) – DKMS Africa is looking to help save 9-year old, Oreokame Sehularo, who needs his perfect bone marrow match. He was diagnosed with Fanconi Anaemia in 2016.
He is described as a fun-loving child who loves jumping castles and birthday parties. Sadly, he is transfusion-dependent and desperately needs a lifesaving blood stem cell transplant.
A blood stem cell is an immature cell that can develop into all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Blood stem cells are found in the peripheral blood and the bone marrow. Also called a hematopoietic stem cell.
Oreokame has spent most of his life in hospital, but when he was seven, he was healthy enough to have a birthday party at home. That is where his love of parties was born, now he is hoping to have a 10th birthday party, and it can happen if South Africa rallies to find his perfect match.
DKMS Africa share the old African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” in the hope that it inspired people to step forward and give Oreokame a chance to live his life to the fullest!
Oreokame’s family members have been tested and are unfortunately not a match for him. He now has to find an unrelated donor match, the chances of which are 1 in 100 000 within his own ethnic group.
Donors are usually found in a patient’s ethnic group. With people of colour representing only 30% of all registered donors in South Africa, many South Africans may not find their lifesaving match in time. By creating awareness about the importance of donors of Black African descent, that can change.
The Sehularo family, together with DKMS Africa, are sending out a special appeal for as many new blood stem cell donors as possible to register, especially those of Black African descent.
Every new donor registered gives hope to Oreokame and patients like him. According to DKMS, every 5 minutes, someone in South Africa is diagnosed with blood cancer or blood disorder. A stem cell transplant is the only hope of survival for many of these patients. There are over 37 million registered donors worldwide. DKMS has registered over 10.5 million donors and facilitated more than 91 000 transplants; this means 91 000 second chances of life for patients suffering from a life-threatening blood disorder.
Having more donors improves the chances that a patient will be able to find their match. Getting more people to register means correcting longstanding misconceptions about what it means to be a bone marrow donor. Being a donor is not as painful, invasive or permanent as many people believe.
If you are between the ages of 18 – 55 and in general good health, request a swab kit at https://webforms.dkms-africa.org/en/ZA/register/. You could save Oreokame’s life or one of the thousands of children and adults waiting to find a match.
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