Syfo Ngwenya Seeks Help for A Young Man Diagnosed With Blood Cancer
Syfo Ngwenya Seeks Help for A Young Man Diagnosed With Blood Cancer. Over the past couple of days, 26 year-old Owami has been trending on social media. This is because the BSc Mathematics and Applied Maths student has been diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anaemia, and is in need of a blood stem cell donor.
Sadly for him, none of his three sisters are a match so he is now dependent on the generosity of a stranger because there is currently no match on the global stem cell registry. Matches are based on HLA characteristics (DNA) and not blood type. This means that a Black patient’s match is most likely to come from a Black donor but Black, Coloured, Indian and Asian donors are under- represented.
“I got my diagnosis in June 2021 and it took a while before I told my family. My mother took it very hard, she couldn’t stop crying. She was very emotional and that’s when I knew I had to be strong for my family,” shared Owami.
His story touched many, including Sidwell Syfo Ngwenya. The rapper, actor and TV producer took to Twitter where he empathized with Owami.
“Owami’s story hit home. A thread… So, this young man who is a BSc Mathematics and Applied Maths student at Wits has recently been diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anaemia, blood cancer. Why should you care? Well this is a condition that can change your lifestyle overnight,” he said.
Sine Owami hasn’t found a donor, Sidwell pleaded with the public to register DKMS Africa, to be blood stem cell donors. The non-profit Organization is a donor recruitment centre and registry. They help fight blood disorders and cancers like leukaemia through the recruitment of stem cell donors and maintaining a registry of potential donors.
