A LOCAL business owner who saved the life of a young New South Wales mother through a stem cell donation has encouraged others to sign up to the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
In Australia, 1000 patients a year require stem cell donations and, due to the shortage of donors, many patients can't find a match. Of those that do, 80 per cent come use an overseas donor.
A blood cancer diagnosis is made every 28 minutes in Australia, so Ryan Hammerton said it was important to donate.
"I've been a blood donor for over 20 years and I donated stem cells back in 2017 after I saw a poster on the wall on the donor centre," he said.
"They take your samples and contact you if you are an 80 per cent match with a recipient, then you go into the centre and donate again and they test it more thoroughly to determine if you are a 100 per cent match."
"Typically they do it with family members because they have a higher chance of finding a match, but in a lot of instances they don't and that's when they go to the public.
"They actually go international. Eight-out-of-10 transfusions come from overseas, because we have a diverse ethnic mix in Australia and a small population it is hard for them to establish a solid match in Australia."
Mr Hammerton said the process was rigorous to ensure the safety of both the donor and the recipient.
"I was a 100 percent match and I flew to Melbourne to go through a massive series of comprehensive tests, X-rays and physicals and I got a 20-page document on everything that makes me up," he said.
"They did rigorous testing to ensure I was a good donor and could afford to donate the stem cells at no compromise to myself."
"With the donation they take the stem cells out of your system and give it to a patient with blood cancer and you can only do it once because if you do it twice, there is a problem with compromising your body."
"They do a process known as apheresis which separates blood components. They hook you up to a machine and it is a super slow drip. I was hooked up to the machine for 9-10 hours and you sit there and catch up on your TV shows."
"For the recipient they need to wipe their immune system and be put in full isolation while they wait for your donation, so it is very time critical."
Mr Hammerton encouraged anyone who was able to, to sign up to the registry.
"The process is really quite amazing, the whole donation process is seamless," he said.
"It is incredible to go in and view the facility as someone going through a straightforward process to save a very unwell person's life."
"It is really important for younger people to sign up. (The) 18-35 (age group) is what they are targeting because of the health of the stem cells and the transfer of the stem cells being more successful."
"I highly recommend A, donating blood in the first instance and, B, signing up for the ABMDR. It will be extremely worthwhile if you or a loved one fall ill with one of the various types of blood cancer which seem to be common in our community."
To know more about making a donation, go to the registry website.
