BAPS donor recruitment drive attracts new donors

In a campaign by BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir to get more people of South Asian origin to register on the Bone Marrow Donor Register resulted in 59 new members. Further information on the story can be found on the BAPS Mandir website.

BAPS is no stranger to high impact social action campaigns. Other recent initiatives have included combating heart disease and diabetes. The organisation has raised thousands of pounds on health and well-being.

The latest drive was organised in conjunction with Delete Blood Cancer UK. The case study of a young boy, Dushyant Mehta, from north-west London who has been diagnosed with Dyskeratosis Congenita – a condition which eventually leads to bone marrow failure was central to raising awareness. Prior to being diagnosed, Dushyant donated his own blood cells to his sister who also suffered from the condition. She sadly died in 2012.

Delete Blood Cancer is a bone marrow recruitment charity that serves to increase the pool of life-saving blood stem cell donors, and is part of the world’s largest donor centre. It previously partnered with BAPS Charities for a similar campaign at the Mandir in 2013.

BAPS commitment to such health causes is bringing great hope to the cause. A university student who had previously been to a BAPS recruitment drive was recently called to transplant his bone marrow to a matching recipient.  Vandan shared: “I was called in on the day following my 21st birthday. I could not think of a better way of celebrating my coming of age, by giving new life to someone in need.”

For further information you can visit Delete Blood Cancer UK. The NHS is campaigning for donors and you can find further informaton on the HMB’s Home Page.