The Cancer Association of Namibia (CAN) has teamed up with international awareness campaigners Robin and Jolandie Lewis of Numinous Expeditions to bring the world’s first intercontinental stem cell donor recruitment drive to the country.
Matches on the Map is part of a 10-year documentary and awareness project that includes visits to communities, educational talks, and donor drives at schools, universities, markets and sport clubs across Africa, Europe and beyond.
According to CAN chief executive Rolf Hansen, the expedition aims to raise awareness and recruit life-saving stem cell donors in 64 countries across three continents.
He says the couple is travelling in an eco-friendly truck called Betsy, powered entirely by recycled cooking oil, and is currently on the Namibian leg of the tour.
“Namibia currently has only 800 registered stem cell donors, while South Africa has around 80 000, and yet thousands of patients across our region rely on this life-saving intervention to survive blood cancers like leukaemia,” Hansen says.
He adds that Namibia is the fourth stop on the expedition, following drives at Keetmanshoop, Lüderitz and Mariental.
The cancer association says over the next two weeks, Betsy will be stationed in Windhoek, where the team will host school, corporate and public outreach programmes to register more potential donors.
A key event will take place at Café La Vie, Independence Plaza, on Friday, 23 May, starting at 08h00.
The public is invited to attend and register as stem cell donors. All registrations will be added to the South African Bone Marrow Registry, the only World Marrow Donor Association-accredited bone marrow registry on the continent.
Hansen says Namibia’s lack of a national stem cell registry presents a serious challenge to patients in need of bone marrow transplants.
“A genetic match is rare; the odds can be as low as one in 400 000, depending on ethnicity. That’s why growing the regional donor pool is critical,” he says.
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