To help blood cancer patients find a matching stem cell donor, DKMS BMST Foundation India is partnering with over 100 restaurants and food outlets across Bengaluru, this Valentine’s Day. The partnership aims at spreading awareness on the need for registered blood stem cell donors in the country and how one can register and become a blood stem cell donor.
The Bengaluru based non-profit organization has partnered with famous restaurants and food chains such as Beijing Bites, Reset Café, Smoor, Art of delight, Sweet chariot, Corner house to name a few, as part of their awareness campaign.
Talking about the initiative, Patrick Paul, CEO DKMS-BMST says, “We launched the campaign #CupidOffDuty to inform and make people aware of their potential of saving blood cancer patient’s life by registering as a blood stem cell donor. We curated a Lifesaver Squad which is being supported by famous restaurants in the city and have created a QR code that will take the customer to the landing page www.dkms-bmst.org/CupidOffDuty and interested people can register as a potential lifesaver.”
Blood stem cell donors are constantly in critical need by transplant physicians for blood cancer patients. For most blood cancer patients, a blood stem cell donation from a healthy matching donor is their chance for a successful treatment.
However, only about 30% of the patients in need of a stem cell transplant as a life-saving treatment can find a sibling match. The rest 70% depend on finding a matching unrelated donor, which makes it vital for people to register themselves as potential donors.
“We are glad to collaborate with DKMS-BMST to encourage people to come forward and register as potential donors. We hope that blood cancer patients can find their genetic match and a second chance at life through this initiative. We are hopeful that our customers will be as thrilled as us to support this cause,” says Ankit Kedia, owner, Reset Café, Bangalore and Mumbai.
The pandemic has affected blood cancer registrations due to the absence of on-ground awareness drives. #CupidOffDuty is the first initiative DKMS-BMST has launched this year and are hoping to register potential blood stem cell donors through this initiative.
“We are happy to support DKMS-BMST in their campaign to raise awareness about the cause and help fight blood cancer together. As part of the initiative, we will be hosting DKMS-BMST standees in all our outlets till February 15,” says Ibrahim, owner, Beijing Bites, Bengaluru.
From brand standees at restaurants, QR codes on menus and delivery packages, all of these lead to a landing page where customers will find cupid without the customary arrow, but a buccal swab. The page will also have some information about blood cancer patients who are looking out for a matching donor.
