I’m Kwazinkosi and I helped save a life!

About me:

I am a Master of Commerce student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I had always wanted to study towards a medical degree but I was not admitted to the UKZN Medical School in 2010 so I rerouted to a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Twelve years later, here I am making a medical contribution as a blood stem cell donor.

When I got the call:

When I got the call that I was a matching donor I had mixed feelings. I was scared but excited because this was my chance to save someone’s life so I said yes.

I have seen cancer take the breadwinners of families and even their children. Growing up in the early 90s KwaMaphumulo instilled strong values in me. Where I come from, if you can help someone then you do it with an open heart, even if you don’t have much to give.

My fears about donating my blood stem cells:

I was scared at first so I did my research after the information the DKMS Team gave me. I also spoke to Dr. Musa Gumede and Dr. Sicelo Nkwanyana who commended my decision to donate my blood stem cells. Those conversations helped me with any fears that I had at the back of my head.

The side effects were minimal. I experienced a bit of dizziness and some back pain after the harvest but it didn’t last long. I am fine now.

To the patient, I donated to:

I don’t know anything about you but I want you to go on and do well. And, whenever you get the chance, help someone else in any way possible. Big or small.

To you reading this:

I strongly believe in our collective duty to care for and help one another. If we did that then society would be a better place. We all deserve a better quality of life and it’s not all on our government to provide that, it is a shared responsibility.

We are all dealing with a lot right now and the only way to counteract that is to respond with kindness.

Let’s give each other one less thing to worry about by registering to become blood stem cell donors with DKMS Africa.

FACTS ABOUT BLOOD CANCER AND REGISTERING TO BECOME A BLOOD STEM CELL DONOR

• A South African is diagnosed with blood cancer or a blood disorder every 72 minutes.
• Patients of African descent only have a 30% chance of finding a matching blood stem cell donor while white patients have a 79% chance. This is because of the ethnic underrepresentation on the global stem cell registry. We can change this by getting more people registered as blood stem cell donors.
• Matches are not based on blood type but rather your HLA characteristic (DNA). This means that a blood cancer patient’s match is most likely to come from someone in the same ethnic group which is why representation matters.
• Becoming a donor starts by registering on the DKMS Africa website. A swab kit will be couriered to you and collected for free. Once your swab has been typed in their lab, you will be listed as an active donor on the global stem cell registry.
• If you are found to be a match, their medical team will contact you directly via your listed contact number. The chances of being a match are 1 in 100 000 and you’ll only ever donate up to two times for the same patient.
• The donation is done via the Peripheral Stem Cell Method which means there’s no surgery involved and it’s similar to donating blood or platelets.

All costs related to the donation process are taken care of by DKMS Africa. You will not be asked to pay for anything.