Johannesburg – The South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) is appealing to young men aged 16–35 to register as stem cell donors, as their critical underrepresentation is costing lives.
The SABMR, on Tuesday, 10 June 2025, said that despite being the most effective donors, offering better transplant outcomes and fewer complications, young men make up only 8.9% of registered donors in the country, far below the global average of 39%.
This shortfall severely limits the chances of finding suitable matches for patients with life-threatening blood cancers, especially those from certain ethnic groups.
With June marking Youth Month, the SABMR said it was calling on young men to step up and take action.
Jane Ward, Deputy Director for the SABMR says while they have seen a noticeable increase in the number of youth signing up to the registry, the number of young women registering far outweighs that of their male counterparts.
“Our donor recruitment teams have been specifically targeting schools, universities and colleges over the last two years to spread awareness and sign up younger donors, but male representation is still lagging behind.”
Medical research has found that stem cell transplants from younger male donors lead to better patient outcomes, including higher survival rates and fewer complications post-transplant.
Stem cell age, just like other organs, declines with age, therefore older donors do not yield as many stem cells as younger donors.
Ward explains: “Young male donors are less likely to trigger graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) a serious post-transplant complication.
“Additionally, male donors typically yield a higher volume of stem cells, enhancing the effectiveness of transplants and likelihood of successful engraftment.
“We’ve also found that men have fewer pre-existing conditions versus women – leading to better donor eligibility.”
Donor Recruitment Supervisor for the SABMR, Gaelen Naidoo, said, while the registry’s main focus is diversifying the donor pool by signing up as many stem cell donors to match the South African demographic, a bigger onus will be placed on recruiting younger males.
“We will be shifting our focus towards more targeted recruitment efforts specifically during Youth Month directed at young men,” said Naidoo.
“This month alone, the SABMR will be conducting seven donor recruitment drives at university campuses, high schools, and local establishments that youth frequent in Cape Town, Free State, Johannesburg, and Durban.
“We invite young men to take action by joining recruitment drives or signing up online on our website from the comfort of their homes of offices.
“Registering as a stem cell donor is absolutely free, and all logistics with regards to issuing buccal swab kits and the couriering thereof are taken care of by the SABMR.”
If you’re between the ages of 16 and 45 and relatively healthy, you may be eligible to become a stem cell donor.
To register and view the donor exclusion criteria, visit www.sabmr.co.za
