Army Soldier’s Stem Cell Donation Saves Blood Cancer Patient, Exposes India’s Donor Shortage

At least six years after registering as a potential blood stem cell donor, an Indian Army soldier has given a blood cancer patient a second chance at life, proving that service to the nation can extend

far beyond the battlefield. Havildar Sukhwinder Singh, a career soldier, recently completed one of the most meaningful missions of his life: donating his blood stem cells to save a patient battling a life-threatening blood disorder. His journey is now being highlighted by DKMS Foundation India as a powerful reminder that it is important to be a donor in the world today. Singh first registered as a potential donor in 2019 during a patient appeal drive for a young leukemia patient. Although he was not a suitable match for that case, he chose to stay in the registry, understanding that the commitment to donate stem cells can span many years. For more than half a decade, he remained on standby, without knowing if or when the call would ever come.

That moment arrived last month, when he was identified as a perfect genetic match for another patient in urgent need of a blood stem cell transplant. Without hesitation, he donated, honouring his promise. According to doctors, a transplant was the only way for survival for the patient.

Donor shortage in India

While Singh’s donation is a deeply personal story of hope, it also reveals a stark reality in India's healthcare system. For patients battling blood cancers and inherited blood disorders such as thalassemia, a stem cell transplant is often the only curative treatment. Yet, to find a suitable and matched donor remains a desperate race against time. In India, a new blood cancer diagnosis occurs every five minutes, and more than 10,000 children are born each year with Thalassemia Major. Despite this overwhelming need, only about 0.09 per cent of the eligible Indian population is registered as potential blood stem cell donors. This creates a severe “genetic bottleneck,” as HLA tissue types are closely linked to ethnicity. As a result, many Indian patients struggle to find a suitable match, turning otherwise treatable conditions into life-threatening battles. “Registering as a blood stem cell donor is a commitment that can span years,” says Patrick Paul, Executive Chairman at DKMS India. “Sukhwinder’s journey is truly exceptional. His patience and willingness to act the moment he was called remind us that one decision made years ago can give someone else a future. He is a hero both in uniform and in the registry.”

What is blood cancer?

Blood cancer affects how your body produces blood cells and how well those cells work. Most blood cancers start in your bone marrow, a soft, sponge-like material in the center of your bones. Your bone marrow makes stem cells that mature and become one of the following:

• Red blood cells, which carry oxygen
• White blood cells, which fight infection
• Platelets, which control bleeding

Blood cancer happens when something disrupts how your body makes blood cells. The cancer cells can’t do the jobs normal blood cells do. Instead, the abnormal blood cells multiply unchecked and overwhelm the normal ones. Like any type of cancer, blood cancer is a serious diagnosis. But the good news is that more and more people are surviving blood cancer.