Stem Cell Challenge set for U of T campuses

On Wednesday, Feb. 10, the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) will be holding its annual Stem Cell Challenge to help promote stem cell donation awareness, which will be taking place at University of Toronto Scarborough campus. The other will be at the university's main downtown campus.

But thanks to the good fortune of more than a quarter million people who have donated stem cells, these individuals have been given a second chance at life.

This is why the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) wants to make sure those suffering from diseases like leukemia (cancer of the blood) or aplastic anemia (a blood cell disorder) will always have the help they need, when they need it.

CBS spokesperson Hailu Mulatu says every year, hundreds of people require life-saving stem cell transplants, and that this number continues to climb every year. Because of this, he said it's important that the list of potential donators also keeps up.

"One of our biggest challenges is the lack of awareness for stem cell donations," he said.

"We are trying to use every opportunity we can to spread awareness throughout the communities."

Currently, the CBS has a list of about 250,000 donators nation-wide. And while this number may seem high, he says it doesn't guarantee every patient will find a compatible donor.

To make matters more critical, only 30 per cent of patients will find a match from within their family. This means 70 per cent of those in need depend solely on the donation list.

"We need more donators," he said. "Because the longer a patient waits to find a match, the worse their situation could get."

Mulatu said people may have misconceptions of what the donation procedure is like. Some people may be afraid of it because they don't know how stem cells are extracted and fear major surgery is involved.

This couldn't be farther from the truth, Mulatu says.

"These days, the majority of stem cells can be retrieved from circulating blood," he said, comparing the procedure to regular blood donation.

He noted the main differences are the duration of the process (three to four hours) and that the person's blood is actually redeposited back into their body once the stem cells are retrieved. Once back in the body, the cells are regenerated.

"In some cases we have to harvest (stem cells) from a person's bone marrow," he said. "But it depends on the medical need of the patient."

In this situation, a donor would have to stay overnight in hospital and undergo minor surgery. But he said nobody has to go through the procedure if they feel uneasy about it.

"We want to make sure people are comfortable when they sign up to be potential donors," he said. "We walk through the entire process with them from A to Z and we make them aware of everything. But people should be aware of the fact they have the ability to save a life."

Ideal donors are healthy young males aged 20 to 35 because they are associated with long-term survival rates. But anyone aged 17 to 50 can register, as long as they meet the medical requirements.

Stem Cell Challenge runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at both the University of Toronto campuses. The Scarborough campus is located at 1265 Military Trail, and the other is located at 1 King's College Circle, which is the U of T Medical Science building.

For more information, visit www.onematch.ca or call 1-888-2-DONATE.