Thanks to this collaboration, over 184,000 people have already joined the ranks of potential bone marrow donors, and 1,912 of them have shared a part of themselves to save the lives of patients suffering from blood cancers.
Who can become a donor?
Any healthy person between 18 and 55 years old who is a permanent resident of Poland.
Registration as a potential bone marrow and stem cell donor involves:
- Reviewing the general registration requirements and ruling out any illnesses that would prevent registration.
- Filling out an electronic registration form with basic personal data.
- Taking a swab from the inside of your cheek.
After your genetic material has been tested and your data is entered into the database, every donor receives a registration confirmation via email. The entire registration process takes about 3 months. If it turns out that you have the same tissue characteristics as a patient suffering from blood cancer, the cells are collected and transplanted into the patient.
What are the collection methods?
- Peripheral blood stem cell collection/apheresis (used in 90% of cases).
- Bone marrow collection from the pelvic bone (used in 10% of cases).
REMEMBER: BONE MARROW COLLECTION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SPINE!
For more information, visit www.dkms.pl
Main Hall, SGH Main Building
Students’ Union of SGH, NZS