AR Rahman (Pic: ENS).

CHENNAI: Double Oscar winning Indian composer A R Rahman has made an appeal to youngsters to register themselves as bone marrow donors. The music directors appeal is made on behalf of the Chennai-based Jeevan Stem Cell Foundation to mark the world blood cancer day (May 28, Sunday).

The foundations co-founder and chairman, P Srinivasan said every year over 1.2 lakh Indians are diagnosed with blood cancer and another 10,000 children born with diseases like Thalassemia. They could hope for a 60 to 80% chance of cure, with matching stem cell donors. So, the foundation has created a registry, which is a database of potential stem cell donors, and matching donors are identified when needed.

To encourage more people to register in this database, the foundation with the help of AR Rahman has put out a YouTube video to mark world blood cancer day. Over 90 per cent of us cant find a stem cell match because Indian DNA is different and we dont have a large bone marrow registry.

If you are between 18 and 50, it is your time to save an Indian life, sign up with me as bone marrow donor in Jevan stem cell registry, said Rahman in the video.

Interested individuals can login to http://www.bethecure.in, read who are eligible and register as potential stem cell donors.

Excerpt from:
Be bone marrow donors: Rahman's appeal to youth- The New ... - The New Indian Express