Brands
Yashoda Medicity launches campaign to promote stem cell donation
MUMBAI: What if saving a life took just a few seconds and a cotton swab? That simple idea sits at the heart of A Match That Saves Lives, a new public awareness campaign launched by Yashoda Medicity to spotlight the urgent need for stem cell donors in India.
Held in collaboration with Datri Stem Cell Donation Registry and Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., the campaign aims to demystify stem cell donation and show how a quick, painless buccal swab can put someone on the path to becoming a life-saving match. The initiative saw enthusiastic participation from residents of nearby communities, signalling growing awareness, but also underscoring how much more needs to be done.
The event was inaugurated by Abhinav Gopal, IAS, chief development officer, Ghaziabad, who joined doctors and advocates in calling for wider public participation in India’s stem cell donor registry.
The urgency is real. For patients battling conditions such as leukaemia, lymphoma, thalassaemia and other severe blood disorders, a bone marrow transplant is often the only cure. Yet more than 70 per cent of patients do not find a suitable donor within their family. Finding an unrelated match can be as rare as one in 10,000, owing to the complexity of matching Human Leukocyte Antigen markers.
Against this stark backdrop, the campaign focused on clearing misconceptions around stem cell donation and highlighting how accessible the process really is. Awareness booths at Yashoda Medicity, Indirapuram, and Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital, Kaushambi, allowed visitors to register as donors, submit buccal swab samples and speak directly with medical teams.
The on-ground drive was supported by health talks and panel discussions featuring voices such as Shobha Tuli of Thalassemics India and the Thalassaemia International Federation, and Bindiya Sawheny, North India Head at Datri. Conversations centred on strengthening India’s donor ecosystem and why timely matches can dramatically improve patient outcomes.
Adding a human touch were patient stories shared under the hashtag BMT Ki Kahani Survivor Ki Zubani, which brought home the life-changing impact of stem cell donation, not through statistics, but lived experience.
Yashoda Group of Hospitals chairman and managing director P. N. Arora said, “Creating awareness about stem cell donation is something we must all take part in. This initiative underlines our commitment to public health alongside medical excellence.”
Yashoda Group of Hospitals managing director Upasana Arora said, “‘A Match That Saves Lives’ is our effort to raise awareness about the life-saving potential of stem cell donation. While our teams support patients through every stage of treatment, this initiative helps build a stronger donor network that delivers timely hope.”
Yashoda Medicity director and head of hematology hemato-oncology and bone marrow transplant Nivedita Dhingra said, “Every new donor brings a patient closer to a compatible match. Campaigns like this turn awareness into action and action into saved lives.”
With A Match That Saves Lives, Yashoda Medicity is sending out a clear message: sometimes, all it takes to make a difference is to swab, register and be willing to help a stranger live.
Ola has a new voice. The ride-hailing giant has appointed Shirsha Majumder as senior manager for PR and communications, bringing in a seasoned hand to sharpen its brand narrative and media relations.
Majumder arrives from Acko, where she spent close to four years playing a central role in shaping the insurance company’s communications strategy. Before Acko, she built her credentials across a string of well-regarded organisations including HDFC Life, Adfactors PR and Edelman, accumulating over nine years of experience across reputation management, media relations, strategic messaging and stakeholder engagement.
At Ola, she is expected to bring that breadth of experience to bear on the company’s communications function at a time when the brand is navigating an increasingly competitive and scrutinised market.
For a company that has rarely been far from the headlines, getting the communications right matters. In Majumder, Ola has picked someone who knows how to manage a narrative under pressure.
