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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                                MARCH 13, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 26

                Cricket Legend Sunil Gavaskar Renders

                         Support to AAPI’s Stem Cell Drive

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            past President, Dr. Satheesh Kathula.
                                                                                                                  Recognizing this urgent need, AAPI
            New York, NY
                                                                                                                  partnered  with the National Mar-
                   i, you could be the miracle                                                                    row Donor Program (NMDP), the
                   that somebody with Blood                                                                       world’s largest stem cell registry—in
            HCancer is waiting for. Take                                                                          2024 to launch a unified, nationwide
            a Swab. Save a Life,” the  Legend-                                                                    campaign.
            ary Cricket Star Sunil Gavaskar,                                                                         “Patients of Indian ethnicity are
            known around the world as an in-                                                                      more likely to match with Indian do-
            spirational speaker, philanthropist,                                                                  nors—but the existing donor pool is
            and the chairman of H2H Founda-                                                                       alarmingly small. Until now, families
            tion,  told  in  Videp Post  on  Insta-                                                               have had to organize donor drives in-
            gram,  with  AAPI’s  official  logo  at                                                               dependently, while also coping with
            the background.                                                                                       the emotional and medical toll of a
                Gavaskar was referring to the                                                                     cancer diagnosis,” Dr. Kathula said.
            STEM Donor Drive by the American                                                                            Stem cells are one of the
            Association of Physicians of Indian                                                                   treatment options for certain types
            Origin (AAPI) initiated in the United                                                                 of cancers. HLA typing, based on
            States by Dr. Satheesh Kathula, a He-                                                                 which stem cell donors and patients
            matology Oncologist and the immedi-                                                                   are  matched  is  ethnicity  specific.
            ate past President of AAPI, during his                                                                Indian patients have higher chances
            presidency in 2024.                                                                                   of matching with Indian donors.
                Under the leadership of Dr. Amit                                                                  Unfortunately, Indian donor pool
            Chakrabarty,  the current  President,                                                                 is  very  limited,  making  it  difficult
            AAPI  launched the AAPI Stem Cell                                                                     for  patients  to  find  a  proper  match.
            Drive in India  during   the  recently                                                                Moreover, until now, patients and
            concluded  Global Healthcare Sum-                                                                     their families are doing these drives
            mit in Odisha, India.                                                                                 on  their  own  to  find  the  match  in
                Dr. Amit Chakrabarty expressed                                                                    addition to dealing with the diagnosis.
            his “deep gratitude  and apprecia-                                                                    There  has  been  no  unified  push  to
            tion  to  the  Cricket Legend, Sunil                                                                  increase the Indian donor pool.
            Gavaskar  for rendering his support                                                                   Mobilizing Communities Across the U.S.
            to AAPI’s Stem Cell Drive, and for
            his appeal to  everyone to come for-                                                                      Since November 2024, AAPI has
            ward to take a swab and save the lives                                                                organized drives across several cities
            of those who are diagnosed with the                                                                   in the United States  and India, with
            deadly blood cancer.”                                                                                 the active support from the local high
                Dr. Suresh Reddy, a past Pres-                                                                    school and college students. AAPI
            ident of AAPI, who has been instru-                                                                   provides volunteer certificates to the
            mental  in  obtaining  the  active  sup-                                                              students who participate in the drives.
            port of Sunil Gavaskar, said, “The   of thousands of individuals, who have     Dr. Chakrabarty said,  “Stem cell   Dr. Hetal Gor, Chair of AAPI
            Little Master has been associated   come forward to be tested and have   transplants are a vital treatment for   BOT, emphasized the need for com-
            with   AAPI for several years. During   committed to be STEM donors with   blood cancers such as leukemia and   mitment. She said, “You could be
            our  40th Annual Convention in    the objective of saving thousands of   lymphoma HLA markers, which  de-  someone’s only match—their only
            San Antonio, TX  in June 2022,  he   lives. Thanks to Dr. Amit Chakrabar-  termine  donor compatibility, are   hope. Registering is a serious promise,
            addressed the AAPI delegates,  thy, we successfully launched the proj-  inherited and vary by ethnicity. I’m   but the donation process is safe and
            describing  AAPI   members    as  ect in India.”                    thankful to our local AAPI Chapter   complication-free.”
            being part of the greatest profession in   Referring to the need and effec-  leaders, members and volunteers   Expanding the Effort to India
            the world.  During his interaction with   tiveness of STEM donation, Dr. Me-  across the nation who have initiated
            AAPI members, Mr. Gavaskar re-    her  Medavaram, President-Elect of   and are spearheading the Stem Cell   Under the leadership of Dr.
            ferred to his leadership at the ‘Heart   AAPI, said, “Cell-based therapy as a   Registration in India and the Unit-  Amit Chakrabarty, AAPI President
            to Heart Foundation’  and how the   modality of regenerative medicine is   ed States, joining hands with the na-  this year,  AAPI  launched the AAPI
            Foundation is touching many hearts   considered one of the most promising   tional AAPI in our efforts in creating   Stem Cell Drive India during the
            around the world.”                disciplines in the fields of modern sci-  awareness and enrolling more youth   Global Healthcare Summit in Odisha,
                Dr. Sashi Kuppala, Chair of the   ence & medicine. Such an advanced   and adults to be part of this noble mis-  with hundreds of students and faculty
            Stem Cell Drive, who has been leading   technology offers endless possibilities   sion.”              registering to be Stem donors.  AAPI
            the AAPI STERM Drive across the   for transformative and potentially cu-  This noble initiative for Stem   has partnered with the Global Associ-
            United States and India, expressed   rative treatments for some of human-  Donors was launched in 2024 un-  ation of Indian Medical Students, and

            his “deep gratitude to the hundreds   ity’s most life-threatening diseases.”  der leadership of AAPI’s immediate   DATRI, the stem cell bank in India.

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