Ex-cricketer Laxman now a blood stem cell donor

Former cricketer VVS Laxman Sunday registered himself as a donor for blood stem cells and said everyone should become a donor to save thousands of people suffering from blood cancer.

Laxman registered as a donor with a not-for-profit organisation that works for creating a registry of volunteer donors to save lives of those suffering from blood disorders such as blood cancer, thalassemia, etc.

"I think only a few people get a chance to save a life while they are still alive. The feeling of meeting the person who is alive because of you would be the biggest high in one's life," the former batsman told PTI from Mumbai.

He said it was sad that in a country of 1.35 billion, only 3,72,000 donors were registered with DATRI, the not-for-profit organisation.

Thousands of patients were waiting to find a donor, he said and requested everyone to come forward and register themselves for the cause.

"I recently got to know that blood cancer and many such fatal blood disorders are curable through a simple blood stem cell donation. The donation process is very simple... all one has to do is give a few hours to save a life," he added.

Laxman said he met a few children with thalassemia and it was heartbreaking to hear that they needed a blood transfusion every 20 days and their life expectancy was very short.

"But if they find a match, they can lead a normal healthy life like you and me," he said.

The former cricketer launched a short video for DATRI urging people to come forward and raise the awareness level about donating blood stem cell.

"We are extremely grateful to VVS Laxman to not just register as a volunteer donor but also help us spread awareness on blood stem cell donation," DATRI co-founder and CEO Raghu Rajagopal said.

"We have over 2,000 patients registered with us who are waiting to find a match donor who could save their lives. We are hoping that many potential donors will get inspired by Laxman," Rajagopal said.

The probability of finding a matched blood stem cell donor is 1 in 10,000 to one in over a million. Every match is close to a miracle, he said.

"If a match is found, that donor is probably the only person who can save the patient," Rajagopal said.