Bengaluru: Atul Kapur, a 47-year-old ambitious IT professional and doting father of a two-and-a-half-year-old, is facing a life-threatening battle with blood cancer. His dreams took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). Now, hisonly hope is to find a matching stem cell donor for a critical stem cell transplant.
Born in Chennai and raised in Bangalore, Atul pursued his IT dreams after graduating from Manipal University. He moved to the USA for work; however, his journey came to a halt with the blood cancer diagnosis. Despite ongoing treatment, Atul’s body is not responding, necessitating a blood stem cell transplant. His plea for survival hinges on locating a donor whose HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) type matches his.
DKMS BMST Foundation India, a non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders, is coordinating the search for a matching donor for Atul. To reach out to people across India, DKMS-BMST has launched a nationwide virtual drive where one can register online to help Atul find a potential lifesaver and many more patients fighting blood cancer. Link to register: www.dkms-bmst.org/Atul
“In India, a new blood cancer case is diagnosed every 5 minutes, affecting over 100,000 individuals annually. With heightened awareness and advanced treatments, patients like Atul can have a second chance at life through a stem cell transplant. However, finding a matching donor is a challenge; only 30% of patients diagnosed with blood cancer or a blood disorder find a matching donor within their family, while the remaining 70% of the patients rely on the generosity of voluntary, unrelated stem cell donors. Ethnicity plays a significant role in finding a matching donor. Thus, the need for people of Indian ethnicity to register as stem cell donors is eminent as lakhs of Indian patients await their lifesaving donors.” said Patrick Paul, CEO, DKMS BMST Foundation India.
Appealing to the people, Atul says, “I am one of you, breathing the same air, sharing the same sky, and dreaming of seeing my kid grow. I’m standing at the crossroads of life, fighting a battle with blood cancer. I need an immediate transplant from an HLA-matched donor who could be among you.”
“With only 0.04% of Indians registered as stem cell donors, the chances of patients finding a match are one in a million. This leaves thousands of them on a waitlist for years as they cannot find donors, mostly due to the lack of their ethnic representation on the worldwide stem cell donor database. To address this disparity and save more lives, it is crucial to register a larger number of potential stem cell donors from India. With a population of over 1.42 billion and a rising incidence of blood cancer, thalassemia, and aplastic anemia, the need for Indian stem cell donors has never been greater,” Patrick added.
Atul’s wife emphasizes, “Facing the challenges of blood cancer has been an overwhelming journey for my husbandand our entire family. Every day brings new uncertainties, but amidst the struggle, we hold onto hope. Patients like Atul are in a race against time, and a stem cell transplant is their lifeline. His need for a matching donor is urgent; by registering as a stem cell donor, you could be Atul’s lifeline, and many patients like him desperately need to overcome this formidable challenge.”
Any healthy individual between the age group of 18-55can register by ordering the home swab kit at www.dkms-bmst.org/Atul. When you receive the kit, fill out the given consent form, swab the inside of your cheeks to collect tissue cells, and return the swab kit. DKMS laboratory will then analyze your tissue type, and your pseudonymizeddetails will be available in the global search for blood stem cell donors.
To learn more and make a difference, visit www.dkms-bmst.org. Time is of the essence – become Atul’s lifesaver today!
