Help save lives: Stem cell donation registration in Erlangen!

Help save lives: Stem cell donation registration in Erlangen!

On April 22, 2025, the important event to register for stem cell donations as part of the #FrankenFuerDasLeben initiative will take place at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU). This campaign is aimed at administrative staff, faculty members and employees of surrounding companies. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. According to Dr. Andreas Mackensen, Director of Hematology and Internal Oncology at Erlangen University Hospital, the initiative aims to recruit as many new stem cell donors as possible and to increase awareness of the need for typing. Blood cancer patients often cannot find a suitable donor in their family, which is why external donors with suitable tissue characteristics are urgently needed to increase the chances of survival fau.de reported.

The importance of stem cell donations cannot be overstated. Every year around 13,500 people in Germany are diagnosed with leukemia, a form of blood cancer. Often, transplantation of stem cells from an unrelated donor is the only chance of survival when chemotherapy or radiation is not enough. However, a successful transplant requires that the genetic tissue characteristics of the donor and recipient match, making finding suitable donors a significant challenge, he said stefan-morsch-stiftung.com.

Typing campaigns in the summer semester of 2025

The FAU is offering several typing campaigns that will take place in the summer semester of 2025. These actions are crucial to attracting new donors:

• 7. Mai: 11:00 – 14:00 Uhr, Freyeslebenstraße 1, Erlangen
• 16. Mai: 14:30 – 16:30 Uhr, Roter Platz, Technische Fakultät, Erlangen
• 20. Mai: 13:00 – 16:00 Uhr, Teddybärkrankenhaus, Schlossgarten, Erlangen
• 27. Mai: 13:00 – 16:00 Uhr, Nägelsbachstraße, Erlangen
• 2. Juni: 13:00 – 16:00 Uhr, Foyer des Chemikums, Erlangen
• 12. Juni: 11:30 – 14:30 Uhr, Juridicum, Erlangen
• 28. Juni: Sonderaktion auf dem Schlossgartenfest

Additionally, registration locations are offered in Nuremberg and other cities to increase the reach of the initiative. How out zkrd.de As can be seen, 6,835 stem cell collections were carried out in Germany alone in 2022, the majority of which came from peripheral blood.

The typing process

The typing process itself is simple and painless. It only requires informed consent and a cheek swab with a special stick to determine HLA characteristics. The cost of the new registration is usually 50 euros, unless the donor is under 40 years old, in which case the typing is free. The importance of typing cannot be overestimated. Only people who undergo typing can be registered as stem cell donors and potentially save lives.

The #FrankenFuerDasLeben initiative, which is under the patronage of Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, is supported by several partners, including Sparkasse, Nürnberger Versicherung and Datev. These collaborations help to promote the necessary awareness of stem cell donations and help to promote the registration of new donors.

In order to increase the chances of survival for blood cancer patients, it is crucial to further increase the number of registered stem cell donors. In Germany, almost 10 million potential donors are registered in the Central Bone Marrow Donor Register. However, the likelihood of actually being eligible for a donation is low. Every typing campaign is therefore of great importance in giving patients a second chance at life.