Manjeri: All it takes is one person to save the life of Rafiya Sherine. But, in an incredible display of unity and kindness, an entire village came together to find that person. More than one thousand people registered at the stem cell donation camp conducted by the Pratheeksha Club at the Manjeri Yathimkhana school. Amayoor native Rafiya who has been diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia require urgent stem cell transfer to save her life.

Around 1700 people from various parts of the state reached the camp to register themselves as potential stem cell donors. Their samples were collected by TKMS representatives in five classrooms. Meanwhile, a camp will be conducted today at the Preston Catherine Becket Community Centre too as Rafiya stays at Preston, London.

One of the main challenges in the treatment plan is to find a matching stem cell donor. Meanwhile, the turnout at the donation camp was still quite low, making stem cell transfer extremely difficult. It would be possible to find the right donor for Rafiya only if more people volunteer to provide their samples. The results would be available only after running extensive tests.

Rafiya’s posts looking for potential stem cell donors have become viral on the social media lately. She appealed that stem cell donation drives would be helpful for hundreds of patients like her even if she finds a matching donor or not.