Tamil Nadu plans new stem cell registry as expert call for broader donor pool

Tamil Nadu will soon create a stem cell and bone marrow registry to help patients who need a bone marrow transplant. State Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said that 50 patients are currently on the waitlist for this procedure in Tamil Nadu. A stem-cell donor registry is a database of people who have agreed to donate blood-forming stem cells to patients in need. Only about 25% to 30% of patients have a fully HLA-matched sibling donor within their family. For everyone else, unrelated donor registries offer another way to find a match.

How Matching Works

Registration typically involves providing a cheek or buccal swab for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing. HLA proteins help the immune system tell the body's own cells apart from foreign cells. A closer HLA match lowers the chance of complications like graft-versus-host disease. The search for a match can also reach into international donor networks if needed. Jeyasankar S., a medical oncology and bone marrow transplant consultant at Apollo Speciality Hospitals in Chennai, notes that these databases are vital for patients from under-represented communities. A.R. Jaswanthini, a haematologist at VS Hospitals in Chennai, explains that patients can be matched with a donor in another part of India or a different country whom they have never met.

The Donor Pool in India

India currently lacks a single national stem-cell donor registry. The World Marrow Donor Association lists five registries in the country, including the DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry, DKMS Foundation India, Marrow Donor Registry India, GeneBandhu and The Arjan Vir Foundation. Together, these groups hold several lakh registered donors. Experts point out that India needs a larger and more diverse pool of healthy young adults to sign up. G. Vimal Kumar, a senior consultant at MGM Cancer Institute in Chennai, states that misconceptions about pain and weakness often stop people from registering. Registration itself only involves a cheek swab, and actual stem cell collection is often done through the bloodstream in a process much like platelet donation.

Context

Stem-cell transplants are used to treat blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma, along with disorders such as thalassaemia and aplastic anaemia. Because genetic traits are inherited, patients have a better chance of finding a match when people from their own specific background or community are registered as donors.