The 14th International Donor Registry Conference is set to take place in Cape Town at the Century City Conference Centre this week, where scientists, doctors and stem cell research experts, along with donor registries from across the world, will meet.
The conference anticipates that over 300 delegates will be in attendance for the second time in South Africa, as reported by IOL .
The event, hosted by the South African Bone Marrow Registry SABMR and the World Marrow Donor Association, will run until Saturday, 29 June, and focus on some of the latest developments and advancements in the industry.
One of the key components of the event was to share ideas around how to diversify the registries in terms of donor populations according to Jane Ward, SABMR deputy director.
Youre more likely to find a match within your own ethnic group. We know for a fact that there are more patients of Caucasian ethnicity on the registries than other ethnic minorities, such as coloured, black, and Asian, said Ward.
