Koketso Mashao, a 26-year-old from Polokwane, Limpopo, became a blood donor to honour her nephew, who was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 5 and passed away shortly thereafter. Koketso couldn’t donate blood for him because their blood types weren’t compatible, but didn’t let that deter her from finding a way to support others with his same illness. “If I couldn’t do it for him, I knew I could do it for someone else,” she says. “If I couldn’t help my family, I decided to help someone else’s.”  What an amazing thing, Koketso, that this loss made you look outward rather than inward, inspiring you to help others in their time of need. That is an example to all of us of how grief can be a catalyst for good, if we have the courage to act on it.

While donating blood at the South African National Blood Service, she asked if there was anything else that she could donate for someone in need. They told her about the SABMR and she registered without hesitation.

In August 2017, Koketso got a call from the Registry saying that she was a match and immediately agreed to donate. She says there was no pain during the actual donation, which occurred in Pretoria. She has kept in close contact with the Registry ever since, saying, “The SABMR is like my other family.”  

Koketso made the decision not to tell her family about her donation until afterwards, out of concern that they may react with fear or uncertainty about the procedure. “My family didn’t know,” she explains. “Only my best friend knew, because she came with me. I only told my family after everything was done that it happened.” Because the donation was already complete and Koketso was healthy and happy with her decision, the family was supportive and proud.  

In January 2020, Koketso got an unexpected call from the Registry: her patient needed a donor lymphocyte infusion, or a “booster” infusion of more donor cells. The Registry wanted to know if she was willing to donate a second time – this time in Cape Town.  

“I was excited to help out, and to get the chance to go to Cape Town.” She donated in March 2020 just before the COVID-19 lockdown began, with her grandmother by her side. Her grandma was okay with Koketso’s decision to donate, but became nervous on the day of donation. “When the donation started,” Koketso explains, “she asked me if I was in pain. I said, yes, I am, but I can handle it.”  

Koketso is 26. She graduated from varsity in 2019 and continued her studies towards a degree in public management, in hopes of someday working in government or the private sector. She hopes to meet her stem cell recipient someday, who she learned is from overseas. 

She still thinks often of her nephew and is grateful for the opportunity to have donated for someone in need like he was. She says that from that first call with the SABMR, she had a feeling that this was something she was meant to do, because of her nephew’s illness.  

“I just had this feeling that one way or the other I needed to do this for him,” she says. “He’s up there looking down on me and seeing all the good things that I’m trying to do.”

May your nephew’s soul continue to rest in peace, Koketso. His legacy lives on because of you, because of the gift of life you have given to another human in need.

Giving the gift of life once is something truly remarkable. But to do it twice? That is above and beyond. Koketso, from the bottom of our hearts, SIBAMBA NGAZO ZOZIBINI (we are GRATEFUL to you, and we welcome your help with BOTH hands).