THE target was a lofty one. Meet 100,000 people online in the 1,000 hours leading up to yesterday's national Bandana Day and raise nationwide awareness of leukemia and other forms of cancer

Why 100,000?

Tina Botha, founder of the Sunflower Fund that is responsible for campaigns aimed at expanding the national bone marrow registry, said patients had a one in 100,000 chance of finding a bone marrow stem cell donor match and that is where the figure came from.

Unfortunately for famed radio joc Thato "DJ Fresh" Sikwane, below, he only managed to meet 5,741 people by 3.20pm yesterday.

But, Sikwane was not discouraged by this. He says not meeting the target was actually a victory.

"The low number of people met shows how difficult it is for cancer patients to find a donor match."

Sekwane, who lost a cousin to cancer at age 15, said the campaign was a "wake-up call" to most people.

"Remember, next time it could be your family member who needs a donor."

Botha had previously called on black, Indian and coloured people to be tested as potential donors and there were signs that the message was getting through.

She said 789 people were added to the bone marrow registry last month and that 62 percent of people who came forward to register as donors in August were black.

The registry currently stands at more than 64,500.