Emotions and excitement filled a meeting room at a hotel in Bangalore, when two strangers met for the first time. Sivakumar, an employee of Scope International, gave a new lease of life by donating his blood stem cell to Gayathri, an interior designer from Hyderabad. The two met first at a meeting organized by Chennai-based organization DATRI, a blood stem cell donors registry.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160725/10151148-b ) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160725/10151148-a )
Gayathri Gunaranjan delivered her first baby in January 2014, which she describes was 'the best moment of her life'. However, the best moment did not last long as she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia three months after her delivery. Doctors told her that, the only chance of survival was through a blood stem cell transplant. The Gunaranjans could not find a match from any member of the kin.
It was during this time that, they approached DATRI donor registry. Sivakumar, based in Chennai, had registered with the organization during one of their donor drive at his previous company for another patient in April 2013. However, his actual calling came in 2015, when he was contacted by DATRI, informing him that he was found to be a match for a person suffering from Leukemia. Sivakumar came forward to gift a new life to Gayathri. She received her blood stem cell transplant in April 2015.
"I am so elated to see that I have made a family happy. I did not imagine me donating would have such a soul satisfying outcome. I wish her and the family a joyful future," said the donor, Sivakumar.
The donor and recipient have been kept under wraps for the past one year despite their desire to meet each other. As per the registry rules, the identity of donors and recipients are not revealed until one year. It was one year after when doctors declared Gayathri completely cured, she expressed her strong wish to meet her life-saver.
"Every match found is a miracle. For a recipient and the family to meet the donor is an emotional and memorable affair. We (DATRI) are glad to have made this happen for them," said Raghu Rajagopal, Co-founder & CEO of DATRI.
About DATRI:
DATRI is a not-for-profit organization registered as a Section 25 company under the Government of India. Co-founded by Mr. Raghu Rajagopal, Dr. Nezih Cereb and Dr. Soo Young Yang in 2009, the vision of the organization is to find a willing matched donor for every patient suffering from fatal blood-related disorders and in need of a blood stem cell transplant.
DATRI is India's largest adult unrelated blood stem cell donors registry with over 1,39,023 voluntary donors and has facilitated 184 donations till date. DATRI works with 11 collection centers and serviced 39 transplant centers worldwide. DATRI is an associate of Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMWD) and a member of World Marrow Donors Association (WMDA).
For more information, visit: http://datri.org/
Media Contact:
Aviini Ashikho
[email protected]
04422542744
PR Coordinator
DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry
