Patient stories

Florence Marina lives with sickle cell disease, a hereditary blood disorder that brings daily pain and challenges. “It means my red blood cells are not round, but take on a sickle shape. They can become stuck, causing severe pain crises, extreme fatigue, and an increased risk of organ damage. It’s a disease you cannot see from the outside, but inside it is a constant battle.” For her treatment, Florence needs blood from donors who share her roots. Will you help?

Read Florence’s full story: https://mijnwereldvanverschil.nl

Marlon Etnel has been living with lymphoma for several years. For now, medication keeps his disease under control, but it will eventually stop working. That is why Marlon urgently needs a donor who matches him, a stem cell donor who shares his roots, because shared roots offer the best chance of a match.

No suitable match has been found for Marlon in the global stem cell registry. He now depends on new donors who might be that one match. To help more patients like Marlon, more donors with Surinamese roots are urgently needed. Will you help?

Fatima Bouazzaoui needs a new kidney. She has been placed back on the transplant waiting list after her previous donor kidney was rejected by her body two years after transplantation. Fatima now depends on dialysis. She urgently needs a donor who shares her roots, because shared roots increase the chances of a successful transplant and reduce the risk of rejection. No suitable match was found within her family. She must now wait for another donor. Unfortunately, there are currently far too few registered donors with a Moroccan background. That is why people like us need donors like us. Will you help?

Ronald Cullimore lives with sickle cell disease and may soon undergo a stem cell transplantion. Until then he depends on blood transfusions. It is rare for patients like Ronald to find a suitable match. A close genetic match is essential and there are currently very few registered donors who share our roots. That makes the chances of finding a donor small. Together, we can change that. If more people with Surinamese roots register as donors, more patients with Surinamese roots can be helped. Your roots can save lives. Will you help?

Prem Sewsaran does everything he can to keep working, but it is becoming increasingly difficult. Three times a week he undergoes kidney dialysis, which drains his energy. Prem urgently needs a new kidney. A previous transplant unfortunately did not succeed. His hope now rests on finding a donor who shares his roots. Shared roots increase the chances of a successful transplant and lowers the risk of rejection. There are currently too few registered donors with Surinamese roots to help him. That is why people like us need donors like us. Will you help?

Hafsa Bidri urgently needs a stem cell donor. No suitable match has been found for her in the global registry. There are very few registered donors with Moroccan roots, yet roots play a crucial role in finding a compatible match. More people are now registering, but so far, no match has been found for Hafsa. Hafsa lives with beta thalassemia major, a hereditary blood disorder. She must receive a blood transfusion every two weeks to survive. For five years, she has been searching for a match. If you are someone’s match, you could save a life. Will you help?

When Sophia Oualkadi was eight years old, she underwent two stem cell transplants. The first one failed. The second was a much closer match. Although it was not a perfect 10 out of 10, a 9 out of 10 donor was found in the registry. Sophia has beta thalassemia major, a hereditary blood disorder that is fatal without treatment. She is now doing better. But her three-year-old brother has been diagnosed with the same disease and he will need a stem cell donor too. For the best chance of a match, he needs a donor who shares his roots. Will you help?

Henricus Panday loves Suriname and he loves his wife, who is from there as well. He supports this campaign not only because he is looking for a kidney donor himself, but also because he wants more Surinamese people to know how much they can mean to Surinamese patients. Your roots play an important role in finding a donor match. Henricus has a Hindustani–Creole background, so he is searching for a kidney donor who shares those roots. At present, most registered donors are white. There are far too few donors with the same roots as Henricus. That is why people like us need donors like us. Will you help?