A Blood Cancer Survivor, Atanu Kishor from Bangladesh, aged 22 met his stem cell donor, Kishor from Kerala at an event organized at Tata Medical Center, Kolkata premises. This event was organized by DKMS BMST Foundation India and was dedicated to the fight against this grave disease and other blood disorders like aplastic anemia and thalassemia.

Patrick Paul, CEO, DKMS-BMST, Dr. Regu KS, and others graced this meet.

Atanu had difficult teenage after he was diagnosed with blood cancer. He had to undergo chemotherapy sessions before he was advised to come to India for further treatment. He consulted Dr. Regu KS, Senior Consultant, Department of Paediatric Haemato Oncology and Cellular Therapies at Tata Medical Center, Kolkata.

It is with the help of Dr. Regu KS that the search for the stem cell donor began. No one from his family matched. However, they got the donor within a year in the form of Kishor from Kerala.

Following the international guidelines, the stem cell donor and the recipient did not know about each other for two years. Depending on their interest, they were introduced to each other through this event.

Speaking at the event, Atanu said that he will like to do his bit for the other cancer survivors. He also expressed his desire to work with DKMS BMST Foundation India.

Stem cell donor Kishor highlighted the fact that contrary to popular belief, the stem cell donating process was a painless one. It was as easy as donating blood.

For a successful stem cell transplant, an HLA or Human Leukocyte Antigen matched donor is required. If an individual is healthy and aged between 18 to 50 years, they can become a blood stem cell donor by ordering the home swab kit at www.dkms-bmst.org/register.

With more and more people becoming aware of stem cell donations, the lives of many individuals can be saved.

Priyanka Dutta