Selfless Service! Kerala Youth Saves Life Of Bangladeshi Blood Cancer Patient By Donating Blood Stem Cells

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Selfless Service! Kerala Youth Saves Life Of Bangladeshi Blood Cancer Patient By Donating Blood Stem Cells

A Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation, DKMS BMST Foundation India, helped find Atanu Kishor, a matching stem cell donor from Kerala, from the registry of over 60,000 potential donors in India.

A 29-year-old man from Kannur city of Kerala has donated his blood stem cells to save the life of another 22-year-old youth from Bangladesh suffering from Blood cancer.

Atanu Kishor, a blood cancer survivor, was diagnosed with the disease in 2017 and had undergone several rounds of chemotherapy before finally coming down to Kolkata city of West Bengal for further treatment. Atanu met his stem cell donor in his namesake, Kishore Dev, following a non-profit organisation's intervention at the Tata Medical Centre (TMC) in Kolkata, where the stem cell transplant was conducted.

DKMS BMST Foundation

A Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation, DKMS BMST Foundation India, is dedicated to the war against blood cancer and rare blood diseases informed in its release. The organisation helped find Atanu, a matching stem cell donor from Kerala, from the registry of over 60,000 potential donors in India.

Kishore registered as a potential blood stem cell donor in 2017, and after a year, his donated stem cell proved to be a life-saving match for Bangladesh's Atanu. The New Indian Express quoted Atanu saying, "After a year of registration, I was found to be a match for a blood cancer patient. When I met Atanu for the first time, I went numb with emotions. Being able to save the life of someone is a feeling beyond words."

Stem Cell Transplant

The stem cell transplant surgery was successfully conducted on Atanu in 2018 at the Tata Cancer Centre.

According to the international guidelines, the identity of both the donor and the recipient are kept anonymous for two years. Later, depending on their interest, both the parties are introduced to each other.

Struggles For Atanu Kishor

Atanu had challenging teenage after his diagnosis of blood cancer and had to undergo several rounds of chemotherapy. During his initial treatment in Bangladesh, the doctors advised his family to take him to India for treatment.

Atanu, with his family, reached TMC and underwent treatment under the supervision of Dr Reghu K S, senior consultant, Department of Paediatric Haematol Oncology & Cellular Therapies.

Dr Reghu informed that in India, every 5 minutes, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer and similar blood disorders. Millenium Post quoted the Dr saying, "India has one of the highest ratios of donor searches that do not result in transplantation due to lack of a matching donor."

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