A long-time Lifeblood nurse, recently diagnosed with leukemia, has issued a personal plea for people in her local Cranbourne community and across Australia to donate blood and join the stem cell donor registry.
Sheela Joseph, a familiar face to donors at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood’s Frankston Donor Centre, said these simple, kind acts provide hope and truly have the potential to save lives.
On average, one acute leukemia patient relies on the blood donations of 18 people each month for their treatment. While a stem cell transplant is the best option for many high-risk patients.
Sheela, who has worked at Lifeblood for 11 years, said she sees the best in people when they donate blood and plasma.
“I often think about where the blood is going, whose life it will impact and the flow on effect to their loved ones,” she said.
“I want to take this moment to urge people to join the stem cell donor registry at their next blood or plasma donation. The more people who are on the registry, the more patients could be given a second chance at life.”
Lifeblood’s Frankston Donor Centre team is rallying around Sheela.
Centre Manager Janet Brangsch said Sheela’s desire to help others continues to shine through, even in her own time of need.
“Sheela is one of nearly 20,000 people diagnosed with blood cancer in Australia each year,” Janet said.
“Seventy per cent of the patients who go on to need a stem cell transplant don’t have a match within their family and rely on the stem cell donor registry. That is why it is so important to boost numbers.
“Men, aged 18-35 years old, are often the most successful blood stem cell donors. We also need to increase the ethnic diversity of the registry to reflect our multicultural community because patients are more likely to find a match with a donor from the same ethnic background.
“A larger and more diverse registry would provide more opportunities to find matches for patients in Australia.”
Donating blood stem cells is a safe and straightforward process, similar to donating plasma and takes place in a comfortable chair. If you’re identified as a match, the donation is made in the hospital as an outpatient.
To join the Stem Cell Donor Registry at a Lifeblood Donor Centre, book a blood or plasma donation.
A sample will be taken at the time and used to match donors to patients.
Call 13 14 95, visit: lifeblood.com.au or download the DonateBlood app to book a donation.
Donors can also join the registry using a cheek swab.
For more information, visit the Stem Cell Donors Australia website.
