Students donate stem cells

In a first of its kind effort, students of a city-based college have donated their stem cells and created a registry. Nearly 1,000 students of Meenakshi College for Women in Kodambakkam have registered as potential stem cell donors with Datri Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry. Another 500 students are expected to register on March 30.

The unique initiative was the brainchild of college principal K.S. Lakshmi. It all began after a casual visit to the Cancer Institute, Adyar. I had undergone two surgeries for a tumour in the throat which turned out to be benign.

During one of my visits to the hospital I noticed the hopelessness of the cancer patients. I wanted to donate only money but I was told that more than money the hospital wanted donations for a registry of stem cells, she said.

She took it up with the students in her college during the prayer assembly sessions. The students were encouraged to discuss the issue and soon through the colleges various student clubs it gathered momentum.

Only students above 18 years are allowed to donate. The student-donors had to get a consent letter from their parents. Encouragingly, only one parent refused to allow his daughter to participate, the principal said.

Datri provided a donation kit to each donor and also explained what the students had to do. The students were registered by providing their names with the college ID. They may change their mind at a later date but their donations could be used for research purposes at least, Ms. Lakshmi said.

To safeguard the interest of the donors the college took an undertaking from Datri that the donor stem cells would not be misused.

Datris co-founder Raghu Rajagopal said it was phenomenal that so many women had registered as potential donors. The donation drives help as the probability of finding a match (of stem cells) in ones own family is less than 25 per cent. I may get 15 requests for stem cells today but only one might be the right match, he says.

Of the 80,000 donors registered with Datri more than 11,000 are based in Tamil Nadu. So far the organisation has facilitated 92 transplants, six of them for patients living abroad.

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Students donate stem cells