NEW YORK: US-based Matpia.org has undertaken one of the largest corporate social responsibility projects in India. With its primary focus on promoting the importance of educating and recruiting individuals to becoming "lifesaving" bone marrow and stem cell donors, Matchpia has recently taken its efforts to creating the first operational and robust "unrelated" donor registry in India.

Matchpia.org was launched when Pia Awal, a young American woman desperately needed a bone marrow donor a couple of years ago. Pia's search for a donor had captured the attention of the international news media and helped bring attention to the lack of South Asian participation in bone marrow registries.

Pia eventually found a match and is today leading a healthy, married life and has even resumed her career.

Matchpia.org thus emerged as a formal nonprofit that kept the MatchPia name and effort going to benefit others.

Named "Project India", this initiative launched into high gear in India this January, in creating the Pune-based (NGO) United South Asian Donor Registry/Matchpia (USADR). Working in partnership with senior leaders in the top corporations like Microsoft, Oracle, Genpact Infosys, Polaris, Larsen & Toubro InfoTech, Manhattan Associates, I-Flex, Lucent and other IT companies in India, over 4,100 donors were recruited in three weeks from six genetic regions of India (Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Kolkata), making this the largest humanitarian genetic campaign in India and around the world.

"We are raising the bar of these top international companies to execute and demonstrate their commitment to Social Responsibility," said Tim Dutta, Executive Director of Matchpia and USADR, who adds that the campaign has been well accepted in India, and the roster of companies keeps growing in size, as does the team of volunteers who have joined the campaign to help save the lives of all South Asian cancer patients in need of a genetic donor match.

"For the last three years of our campaign in the US, we observed the notion that if you educate humanity, humanity will rise to the occasion. Indeed that was very relevant and demonstrated through our effort in India," explained Tim, "It no longer mattered whether you were a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian, or Jewish, nor did it matter if you a male or female, everyone came together to save humanity."

Volunteers of this campaign consist of many individuals from all walks of life in India, ranging from graduates from the top universities in India (Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Management, Indian School of Business and others), to everyday professionals and homemakers wanting to champion this cause.

Since coming back to the states, the demand for Project India has been growing bigger everyday. "In looking back in hindsight, I often think about how, I would have never known about the importance of raising the awareness of this cause if it wasn't for Pia," says Hemant Wadhwani Executive Director of United Community Development Corporation and supporter of the Matchpia campaign.

"It's amazing to see the patient needs that exist in India for people with leukemia and blood related cancers. Everywhere we went, our team was contacted by strangers to help with friends or family members that are suffering from a blood-related disease and in need of a donor match. The need and demand for this type of medical service in India is very evident."

"Still there is much work ahead to ensure the USADR continues to grow in a manner that conforms to US and international standards. The future of USADR does look very promising and we are all empowered and inspired by all the work that Matchpia has done in the US to help the South Asian community. This 'Noble' cause is spreading like wildfire throughout the country, everyone is talking about this 'buzz' to save humanity," said Prayank Swaroop, a product specialist at Adobe Software and project lead for USADR in India.

Matchpia.org provides South Asian and all ethnically diverse communities an equal access to a diversified pool of lifesaving stem cell donor matches, while at the same time increasing donor education, recruitment, retention and patient advocacy. This is achieved by providing various community outreach initiatives, and focusing on the importance of being committed and available we called upon for patients in need of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.