Brenda Masuku was the SABMR’s first Black South African donor. When asked about her decision to register, Brenda jokes that it was “peer pressure.” She was working for a medical aid company at the time, and a group of her white colleagues had decided to register during their lunch break after hearing that a local […]

Ian Zwanepoel spent the first five months of his life in a Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. With bouts of diarrhea and vomiting, an enlarged liver and spleen, and inflamed skin, doctors couldn’t find the source of the problem. Ian’s parents traveled daily to visit him while doctors consulted widely, enlisting the help of specialists. But […]

When 20-year-old Reabetswe Khumbane was a student at the University of the Witwatersrand, he visited the campus blood drive to give his regular blood donation. That’s when he came across the SABMR registration tent and learned what it meant to be a bone marrow donor. “Right away, I knew it was something I had to […]

Hayleigh Stals was diagnosed with Fanconi Anaemia in January 2017 at the age of 7. The SABMR immediately began a donor search, and it wasn’t long after that her lifesaving match was found. It was a Friday when Hayleigh’s parents received the call from SABMR notifying them of the match. “It’s a call you never […]

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 […]

While in the waiting room for a routine checkup, 5-year-old Chanelle Matthee started getting red dots around her eyes, a symptom of low platelets. Her doctor ran a blood test, and that same day, Chanelle was diagnosed with Aplastic Anaemia. The only cure would be a bone marrow transplant. With a weakened immune system and […]

For as long as she can recall, Nicola Kassier has had a heart for cancer patients. She remembers in Grade 12 hoping that someday she’d have the opportunity to make a significant impact in the life of someone battling cancer. She didn’t realise then that just a few years later, she’d have that chance—and save […]

At 24, Carryn Scott received a shocking diagnosis: leukaemia. An avid CrossFitter, runner, and hiker just about to finish her studies, the idea of a life-threatening disease seemed far removed from Carryn’s healthy, future-focused lifestyle. >When she began her treatment in Durban under the care of Dr. JP Singh, she was forced to give up […]