Blood stem cell registry and donor recruitment centre, DKMS African partnership with Lusandi Medical Animations Studio (LMAS) has created a three-part educational animation visual series that demonstrates the ease of registering as a donor and the life-changing impact of the donation on the patient.
Due to the general lack of information and education being major barriers preventing eligible potential donors from registering on the global registry, the partnership’s focus is to educate patients and their caregivers in simple but medically accurate language.
To make the series accessible, episodes are available in isiXhosa, isiZulu, tshiVenda, Setswana and English. While 70 percent of blood cancer and blood disorder patients require a blood stem cell donation from a non-related donor, the partnership is focused on a child’s experience with a blood disorder and her journey to finding a blood stem cell donor.
South African paediatric haematologist and creator of LMAS, Dr Candice Hendricks, discovered that counselling through an interpreter, although necessary, was not always the best way to educate patients and families on what to expect when receiving a diagnosis.Thus, she envisioned a television series that documents the life of a young blood disorder patient, Dineo, from diagnosis to transplantation. The purpose was for the viewer to get an understanding of complex medical concepts that were explained simply and in a more relatable format, with initial assistance from animator, Martyna Scibiorek.
Palesa Mokomele, Director of Communications at DKMS Africa mentioned that they are committed to providing blood transplantation access to all patients, mainly focusing on African patients. “We know we can make a difference to the lives of patients here and are committed to helping all patients, hence we collaborated with LMAS to create this series. Our goal is to communicate our message to as many people as possible so we can find a match for every single patient,” she further explained.
The video’s intention is to arm patients with the tools to understand their condition, as well as give them the necessary information about the process of transplantation.
“I want patients and their families to know that they are not alone, that through their struggles and pain, there are people who care for them and will walk beside them,” shares Dr Hendricks. One of this partnership’s greatest visions is to create better journeys for families. The visual series is also available to any organisations working with patients, as well as healthcare facilities that provide work to oncology patients.
To watch the Lusandi video, please visit:
Facebook: facebook.com/lusandi.za
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/lusandi-za
YouTube: LMAS & DKMS Africa | Episode 01 | Dineo Needs a Transplant
Those wanting to register can visit www.dkms-africa.org/register-now
DKMS Africa – Corporate Communications – Nabiella De Beer – T +27 (0)21 701 0120 or +27 (0)74 697 8102 – [email protected] – www.dkms-africa.org