After being diagnosed with a rare genetic blood disease that causes cancer in 2018, South African national Robin Lewis embarked on a life-changing journey to create awareness and recruit as many diverse stem cell donors in as many countries as possible.

His journey, along with his wife, started in September 2023.

The nbc News team caught up with Lewis during his first Namibian stop in Keetmanshoop.

Some of the most common types of blood cancer are leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, explained as often caused by changes in the DNA within blood cells.

After being diagnosed with this rare genetic disease, Lewis was lucky enough to find one donor and subsequently underwent a stem cell transplant.

The life-changing journey that he and his wife embarked on will take them to 64 countries across Africa, Europe, and Asia.

The next stop is Angola and Botswana.

The world's first intercontinental stem cell donor recruitment drive is supported by the South African Bone Marrow Registry.

The Lewis couple's next stop will be the harbour town of Luderitz, followed by Mariental and Windhoek, respectively.