Cape Town welcomes the 14th International Donor Registry Conference (IDRC) from June 25-29 at the Century City Conference Centre, marking the event’s second return to South Africa. This prestigious gathering will bring together global experts in stem cell research and donor registries to discuss the latest advancements and innovations in the field.
This year’s conference is hosted by the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR), which highlights the pivotal role the registry plays in stem cell donor matching in the country.
Medical Director and CEO for the SABMR, Dr Charlotte Ingram, announced that the event will welcome over 300 delegates to the Mother City, providing a significant boost to the local economy.
“Many of the delegates will be visiting Cape Town for the first time, and they will be taking full advantage in terms of what the city has to offer. Apart from accommodation, delegates have booked visits to local tourist attractions and many have extended their stay beyond the five-day conference to explore Cape Town and its surrounds.”
Ingram says the SABMR’s Local Organising Committee has ensured the use of local vendors, providing substantial business and income to small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Successfully hosting an international conference enhances Cape Town’s reputation as a premier conference destination, attracting future events across various industries. Positive experiences for conference attendees may also lead to future personal or professional visits to the Mother City, resulting in ongoing economic benefits.”
Ingram says experts will be sharing the latest advances in stem cell transplants and donor recruitment, as well as best practice in promoting care and safety for both donors and patients.
“The theme for this year’s conference is ‘All Patients and Donors Matter’ with an emphasis on breaking geographical barriers to improve donor recruitment in countries with vast ethnic populations, as well as easier access to stem cell transplants in these areas.”
In South Africa, the donor pool is not representative of the population, which poses a challenge in finding suitable matching donors for patients from certain ethnic backgrounds.
Despite the SABMR having access to the World Marrow Donor Association’s Search and Match Service, which has over 41 million registered donors, only a small percentage of them are of colour. Ingram says this problem is not unique to South Africa, but one that is causing a serious under-representation of ethnic populations in the global donor pool.
“The same trend has been observed for organ and blood donations. People of colour are much less likely to support such causes. While we have tried to address these barriers via targeted outreach efforts and education campaigns, much more needs to be done to destigmatise organ, blood and stem cell donation as a whole.
“These challenges require coordinated efforts from governments, healthcare organisations, advocacy groups and the public to improve awareness, increase diversity and enhance infrastructure. Fostering a collaboration and sharing best practice among registries, give us a chance to learn from each other on how best to tackle these dilemmas.”
For a full programme of topics and speakers click here: https://www.capetownidrc.co.za/programme-2/
Should you wish to attend any of the sessions, please do not hesitate to reach out.