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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline FEBRUARY 06, 2026 | The Indian Eye 24

GHS 2026 in Orissa:

Historic Number of Donors Register for

AAPI’s Stem Cell Donor Drive

OUR BUREAU
New York, NY
he American Association of Physicians of
Indian Origin (AAPI) recorded a major
Tmilestone in its global stem cell awareness
efforts with 238 new donor registrations during the
Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) held in Bhu-
baneswar, Odisha, from January 9–11, 2026.
“We received 238 stem donor registrations at
our Stem Donor Registry during the Global Health-
care Summit,” said Dr. Sashi Kuppala, Chair of the
Stem Cell Drive. “To put this in context, we would
have needed nearly 20 separate drives to achieve
the same number of registrations in the United
States. Thanks to Dr. Amit Chakrabarty, we were
able to successfully launch this project in India.”
The initiative was originally launched in 2024
by Dr. Satheesh Kathula, hematologist-oncologist
and Immediate Past President of AAPI, who rec-
ognized the urgent need to expand the Indian stem
cell donor pool. Under the leadership of current
AAPI President Dr. Amit Chakrabarty, the orga-
nization formally launched the AAPI Stem Cell
Drive India at the GHS in Odisha, in collabora-
tion with the Global Association of Indian Medical
Students (GAIMS), local partners, and DATRI,
India’s leading stem cell registry.
Expressing appreciation for the overwhelm-
ing response, Dr. Chakrabarty said, “I am deeply
grateful to AAPI members and to the students
and staff of Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences
(KIMS), whose enthusiastic participation made
this drive a success.”
Highlighting the medical urgency, Dr.
Chakrabarty explained that stem cell transplants
are life-saving treatments for blood cancers such
as leukemia and lymphoma. “HLA markers, which
determine donor compatibility, are inherited and
ethnicity-specific. Indian patients have a much
higher likelihood of finding a match among Indi- 2024 with the National Marrow Donor Program davaram, President-Elect, outlined the simple reg-
an donors, yet the existing donor pool is extremely (NMDP), the world’s largest stem cell registry, to istration process involving a QR code and cheek
limited,” he said. launch a coordinated national campaign. swab. Vice President-Elect Dr. Krishan Kumar
During the inaugural ceremony of the sum- Since November 2024, AAPI has organized highlighted that nearly 70 percent of patients lack
mit, Prof. R. C. Das, Dean and Principal of KIMS, stem cell drives across multiple U.S. cities, led a family match, a challenge worsened for Indian
urged medical students to step forward and regis- largely by high school and college students, who patients due to the limited donor pool.
ter as stem donors. Students also took a pledge to are recognized with volunteer certificates for their Looking ahead, Dr. Kuppala announced that
promote stem cell awareness among the communi- participation. AAPI is in the process of signing a memorandum
ties they will serve as future physicians. Dr. Hetal Gor, Chair of the AAPI Board of of understanding with the Indian Medical Associ-
Dr. Kathula noted that patients of Indian eth- Trustees, emphasized the responsibility involved. ation (IMA). “With IMA’s nationwide infrastruc-
nicity face unique challenges. “Families are often “You could be someone’s only match—their only ture and our intent, we can enroll thousands of
forced to organize donor drives on their own while hope. Registering is a serious commitment, but the donors,” he said. AAPI plans to conduct drives
dealing with the emotional and medical burden of donation process is safe and complication-free,” across medical schools in India, stressing that “ev-
a cancer diagnosis. There has been no unified push she said. ery registration brings us closer to ensuring no In-
to expand the Indian donor pool—until now,” Building on U.S. experience, AAPI is now dian dies anywhere in the world due to the lack of
he said. To address this gap, AAPI partnered in expanding the effort across India. Dr. Meher Me- stem cells.”

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