Bongani Hans | Published 26 minutes ago
South Africans commemorated National Cancer Survivors Day on June 7 with thousands of blood cancer patients feeling hopeful due to an increasing number of local young people ready to donate the life-saving blood stem cells.
The Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei (DKMS), which has its headquarters in Germany but operates in Africa, has found that there are more than 33,000 young South Africans between the ages of 17 and 25 coming forward to register on the blood stem cells database up to 2026.
DKMS Africa does not have a definite number of blood cancer patients in South Africa, but its internal statistics indicate there are more than 250,000 of them and blood cancer accounts for 7% of all new cancer cases diagnosed in South Africa.
It said every hour someone in South Africa is diagnosed with a blood cancer or disorder.
According to the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa , acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (All) is a form of blood cancer that affects children at any age but common between age four and seven, and in South Africa children are diagnosed with it every year.
The figure of people coming forward to help means that the number of young South Africans acting as Good Samaritans increased to 56% from 19% in 2021.
“While young people are often criticised for being disengaged, these figures tell a different story: thousands are stepping forward to potentially save the lives of patients with blood cancer and other blood disorders,” said DKMS Africa spokesperson, Palesa Mokomele.
She said people lining up to donate stems are from all walks of life irrespective of economic background.
“Donors come from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, and eligibility is based on factors such as age, general health and medical suitability, not income, employment status or financial circumstances,” she said.
Mokomele said DKMS Africa’s aim is to make registration and donation accessible to everyone who is eligible. If a patient finds a match, the donor is not paid but only donation-related expenses, including travel, accommodation, meals and any necessary follow-up care, are covered to ensure that financial circumstances do not prevent someone from becoming a potential lifesaver.
“What matters most is a donor's willingness to help and their ability to safely donate if matched with a patient in need,” Mokomele said.
She said DKMS Africa established that young people are influenced by eagerness to save lives to register as potential donors as most of them had personally witnessed family members or friends suffering from blood cancer.
Mokomele said the recruitment of donors is mostly done at tertiary institutions, “where students are educated about blood cancer, the donation process, and the life-saving impact they can have ”.
She said DKMS started seeing an increase in young people registering as donors in 2021 where there were about 3,400 donors, and the number doubled to around 7,700 in 2022 and increased again in 2023 to approximately 15,600.
“Since then, growth has remained strong, averaging about 50% year-on-year.
“By 2025, the number of young donors had reached nearly 34,000, representing a significant increase over just five years.
“So far this year, more than 23,000 young people have already registered as potential donors, and this latest figure reflects registrations recorded between January and May 2026 only,” said Mokomele.
She said DKMS Africa has a footprint in eight countries and a collection of 13 million potential donors registered globally.
She said to be a potential donor, a person can be an alcohol or drug users , as long as he or she is between 17 and 55 years old and in generally good health, but individuals with certain chronic or serious medical conditions may not be eligible and should check with DKMS before registering.
“Occasional marijuana/cannabis use does not automatically disqualify someone from joining the donor registry.
“However, regular drug use or substance abuse may affect eligibility, as donor reliability is essential.
“During the registration process, potential donors are asked to provide information about any drug use, including the type of substance and duration of use. Each case is assessed individually and those who are willing and able to stop using certain substances may still be eligible to register as potential blood stem cell donors,” she said.
She said beneficiaries of blood cells donated in South Africa are not limited to the country.
“Donors registered in South Africa can potentially help patients anywhere in the world and South African patients can receive donations from matching donors in other countries,” Mokomele said.
She assured that donating blood stem cells has rare cases of serious health risks as donors undergo a thorough medical assessment before donation to ensure the procedure is safe for them.
“Some donors may experience temporary side effects such as bone or muscle aches, headaches, fatigue,…
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