Stem of Life: The Cure Within You

The 'Stem of Life' project by the Chennai Hub is an effort to spread knowledge, call for donors and educate the general public of the city on the importance of stem cell donation for medical treatments and how it saves lives. Stem cells are immature cells that have the ability to develop into different types of cells in the body, including red and white blood cells and platelets. These cells are vital for maintaining the health and function of the blood and immune systems. Stem cell transplantation is a treatment option for individuals with certain medical conditions that affect the blood or immune system, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell anemia.

The Chennai Hub's goal is make regional and global citizens aware of the importance of stem cell donation and encourage them to register as stem cell donors. The different arms of the project include social media campaigns, educational events in universities, corporate presentations and partnership with NGOs/health groups that promote stem cell donation. The agenda is to focus on specific groups of people who are more likely to be compatible stem cell donors, such as those who share the same ethnic or racial background as a patient in need of a stem cell transplant. 

The hub is already in conversation with 10+ universities (an ability to impact 100,000 students) and a leading software company with 15,000 employees for the campaign drives. The Director of State Community Health - Tamil Nadu is onboard as a expert advisor for the project along with a team of leading stem cell specialist doctors. The hub is looking to partner with 4 health NGOs that collect HLA samples and register donors. The goal is to reach 200,000 people and garner pledges from at least 2,500 potential healthy donors by the end of the drive. Overall, the campaign is an important way to raise awareness about the importance of stem cell donation and encourage more people to register as donors by pledging their stem cells. By increasing the number of registered stem cell donors, we can help more people access life-saving stem cell treatments and improve the chances of finding a compatible donor for those in need.