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We are proud to inform you that the “Iranian Cancer Support Group (ICSG)” has organized the “Stem Cells and Marrow Donation” registry campaign on November 14th, 2010 sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society. The goal of this campaign was increasing the public awareness and knowledge about stem cell transplant, the importance of registering as a donor, and the increasing need to higher number of registered donors, especially in Iranian-Canadian community and we were very successfull.
It’s good to know that:
+ Stem cells are immature cells in bone marrows that give rise to all types of blood cells, such as red and white blood cells, platelets, and other blood fractions.
+ Sometimes, the only cure for some types of diseases and disorders, such as specific kinds of cancer like leukemia, lymphomas and myelomas, is stem cell transplant.
+ Every year, hundreds of Canadians need stem cell transplant. In October 2008, 600 patients were waiting for transplant.
+ Finding a donor, whose genetic markers of stem cells, completely match with those of patient’s, is very difficult and sometimes impossible.
+ The criteria of finding a matching donor is so precise that less than 30% of needing patients are able to find a match in their relatives. Therefore, we are trying to enlarge the donor registry as much as possible.
+ Today, due to the small number of Canadian donors with Middle Eastern back-ground, the chance of finding a match from these ethnic groups (including Iranian), is only 0.5%.
+ Stem cell donation is a safe procedure and does not cause life-threatening or severe side effects. Little discomfort before or after the donation is negligible compared to the satisfaction that results from rescuing a patient.
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