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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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