DATE & TIME
Saturday, 27th May 2023 18:00-23:00 BST
VENUE
DoubleTree by Hilton 1 Skerne Road, Kingston upon Thames. KT2, 5FJ
About KKLT
KKLT is a non-profit organisation currently registered in the UK. We aim to create awareness about Leukaemia and other blood cancers. We also want to encourage and recruit as many black and ethnic minorities to register on the bone marrow register as possible.
The East African region is currently not represented on the world donor registry. We believe that a bone marrow registry with volunteer donors recruited across East Africa will benefit the whole region due to our shared heritage.
Bone marrow donation is absolutely vital in the effective treatment of bone marrow cancer / blood cancer / leukaemia. Bone marrow donation is very easy and not painful. 90% nowadays is done by stem cell donation which is similar to giving blood. It’s a straightforward and almost painless process, something you’ll be glad you did because, thanks to you, through your stem cell donation someone gets to have a bone marrow transplant and in effect gets to have a future.
It is simple to become a bone marrow donor and it is vital that we get the message out to the black community and other ethnic minorities, about how simple it is to donate bone marrow or stem cells, so we can save more lives.
THE CRISIS
There is a dire shortage of bone marrow donors from the black community and indeed from the BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) community. The scale of the donation crisis in BAME communities is growing and the dire shortage of bone marrow donors is huge.
Only 61% of BAME patients in need of a stem cell transplant find a suitably matched donor, compared to 96% of White Northern European patients.
BAME donors make up 15% of the stem cell register while black donors make up 2% of potential donors on the British Bone Marrow Registry.
The chance of a BAME patient finding the best possible match is 20%, whereas the chance of a White Northern European patient finding the best possible match is 69%. Although people from ethnic minority groups can receive donations from white people, the best match is often from a person with the same ethnic background.
The trust usually holds an awareness drive and encourages people from the BAME community to register into the stem cell donor registry; as part of our awareness campaign, we address the stereotype, myth, and negative rhetoric relating to bone marrow donation. Finally, the trust supports patients and families affected with leukaemia by offering practical and emotional support.
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