Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service praises 82 bone marrow donors for selfless contributions and appeals for blood donation and bone marrow
Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service praises 82 bone marrow donors for selfless contributions and appeals for blood donation and bone marrow
The Hong Kong Bone Marrow Donor Registry (HKBMDR) of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) recognised 82 bone marrow donors for their spirit of selfless contribution in 2019-2021 today (September 15). The HKBMDR hopes to inspire members of the public to register for bone marrow donation in order to increase patients’ chance of finding a matching bone marrow donor. In addition, BTS urged all sectors of the community to support blood donation to replenish the blood inventories.
Bone marrow transplants can give a new lease on life to patients. Bone marrow recipient Ms Tam suffered from Follicular Lymphoma (a cancer of the lymphatic system) and received chemotherapy treatment in 2013. The cancer relapsed in 2017 and Ms Tam was in urgent need of bone marrow transplantation. Since both biological sisters of Ms Tam were not a match, HKBMDR’s assistance was sought and a matched bone marrow donor, Mr Chan was eventually found in 2018.
Mr Chan is a regular blood donor who started donating blood at the age of 19 and has registered for bone marrow donation at the age of 22. Ms Tam’s health has improved and she is very grateful for Mr Chan’s selfless contribution and cherishes the “second life” given by him. Mr Chan shared, “Bone marrow donation is a one in 10,000 chance of serendipity and is just a simple act of kindness.” He wishes Ms Tam good health and pleasure in her future days ahead.
The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) of the donor and recipient must be highly or completely matched for a successful transplantation. The Chief Executive and Medical Director of BTS, Dr Lee Cheuk-kwong added, “If a patient cannot find a matched donor within his or her family, he or she has to resort to an unrelated donor. According to statistics, the chance of finding a completely matched unrelated donor is about one in five to ten thousands. The chance is even less for patients who have rare HLA type, lower than one in one hundred thousand.” Dr Lee hoped to see more young people register as bone marrow donors and blood donors to save more lives of those in desperate need.
The world’s first Chinese-based unrelated bone marrow donor registry was founded in Hong Kong in 1991 and always recruiting marrow donors. As of August 2022, more than 160,000 people in Hong Kong have registered for voluntary bone marrow donation, and provided matched haematopoietic stem cells for transplantation to 1122 local and 129 overseas patients.
BTS urged members of the public to support World Marrow Donor Day on September 17. Donors who come forward to give blood and registers as bone marrow donors on September 17 and 18 will receive an Eco-friendly Lunch Bag as a souvenir, while stocks last. The BTS invites members of the public to make appointment by calling the BTS’ donor centres or via the ‘HK Blood’ mobile apps to prevent crowds from gathering and long waiting times. For details, please visit www.ha.org.hk/rcbts.
Members of the public aged between 18 to 50 and in good health condition can register for bone marrow donation at any donor centre. The simple registration process includes completing a registration form, followed by health screening and the taking of blood samples for laboratory tests. For information on bone marrow donation, please call 2710 1206 or visit the BTS website.
