Bone marrow donor registry in need of signatures for cheek swab program

TORQUAY resident Pamela Bousejean was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, back in 2010.
But following her recovery through a risky form of stem-cell transplant, she is now looking to save more lives by reinstating funding to a registry that helped save her own.

September is Blood Cancer Awareness month across Australia and the world with organisations, charities and foundations aiming to raise awareness for this deadly and under-represented form of cancer.

Every day 50 people in Australia are diagnosed with blood cancer, making it the second most diagnosed cancer in the country, yet according to the Leukaemia Foundation it is less known than breast cancer, melanoma, and prostate cancer.

UR The Cure is one of the charities trying to spread the word about blood cancer awareness and as a part of their efforts this year, they are encouraging people to sign a petition that would see the government reinstate proper funding to the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry’s (ABMDR) ‘Cheek Swab’ program.

Founder of UR The Cure, Ms Bousejean, started the charity back in 2015 and has been advocating for more funding to the ABMDR for a very long time she said.

“The ABMDR actually started as a pilot back in 2019, where the government allocated some of the registry’s funds to a cheek swap program to see how it would work in a real-life setting,” Ms Bousejean said.

“They have never really committed to full funding, but the ABMDR has a heap of money there in the program that they want to use towards the cheek swabs, but the government has just been super slow in committing.

“We’ve written submissions to the government because the donor registry is funded by the government, and they have done independent reviews on the program to see how well it works.

“So, there’s been a lot of work done in the background.”

The timing for the petition push coincides well with World Marrow Donor Day on September 18, where donor registries from around the world come together to give thanks to all blood stem cell donors and share awareness-raising stories.

Ms Bousejean teamed up with local film makers and fellow Torquay residents Jess Morrell and Luke Jacobson to create a short YouTube video outlining her journey battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the past and what the donor registry did for her, as well as a call to action for the cheek swab program.

Ms Morrell’s brother was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2016 and found a match through Australia’s donor registry too, which really sparked her mission to raise awareness for those living with blood cancer.

“I actually started volunteering for another family when I found out Pam was doing the same thing, so I really just wanted to increase awareness of how easy it can be to join the registry and how fundamentally important it is on so many levels,” Ms Morrell said.

In a letter written to MP Greg Hunt in April of 2020 highlighting the need for more funding to the ABMDR, Ms Bousejean stated that the global donor pool had grown by 32 per cent.

However, Australia’s donor pool had shrunk by 3.5 per cent, signifying a need for change of direction in Australia’s approach to this issue.

To find out more about UR The Cure’s petition, email [email protected] for more information or head to their website at urthecure.com.au.