The holiday season is most often equated with whimsy, indulgence and quality time with family and friends. It’s all exciting and a welcome break from daily routines and responsibilities.
However, many families won't have that luxury because their loved one is in hospital as a result of life-threatening blood disorders like leukaemia and patients get chemotherapy while they wait for stem cell transplants.
One such patient is Kethan Govender, a three-year-old preschooler from KwaZulu-Natal who will receive chemotherapy for the foreseeable future while he waits for a donor match for a stem cell transplant.
His parents have joined up with the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) to promote the Give a Little, Save a Life campaign, which will help raise money for Kethan and other patients in his condition because donor recruiting is expensive.
In South Africa, leukaemia, one of the most prevalent types of cancer, is diagnosed in 800 to 1 000 children each year.
A transplant costs between R1 million and R1.5m, according to Nabiella de Beer, communications manager at DKMS Africa. In-patient chemotherapy treatment costs begin at about R3 000 per day, and radiation treatments can cost up to R27 000 per session, part of which may come from the patient.
The diagnosis came as a shock to little Kethan’s parents, who were to learn that their son has leukaemia but aren’t losing hope.
Kersan Govender, Kethan’s father, is pleading with the public to sign up as donors and support the SABMR’s Give a Little, Save a Life fund-raising campaign, not just for Kethan but also for other children and patients who depend on donors to give them a second chance at life. “There really is no greater gift to give than the gift of life,” said Govender.
Kamiel Singh, the director of sustainability and national operations for the SABMR, said the organisation is eternally grateful to everyone who has donated. However, a larger pool of donors, especially those of Indian descent, is needed, which further cements the call to expand the donor registry for people of colour.
Singh explained the necessity for donations by pointing out how expensive donor recruitment is.
“For example, each tissue typing kit costs R1 500 per donor – a cost which we absorb. There are many other costs that we incur to not burden donors or patients. It is for this reason that we ask South Africans to get behind our Give a Little, Save a Life fund-raising campaign so we can recruit as many donors as possible, to give every patient in need the second chance they deserve.”
In addition to assisting patients with donor recruitment, the SABMR also financially assists patients who cannot afford other transplant-related costs.
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