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Eberswalde unites forces: stem cell donation for emergency paramedic Katharina!
Eberswalde is organizing a fundraiser for Katharina, a leukemia patient, on June 27th. Support urgently needed!
Eberswalde unites forces: stem cell donation for emergency paramedic Katharina!
In Eberswalde, 28-year-old Katharina, an emergency paramedic and medical student, is hoping for a stem cell donation. She has been diagnosed with blood cancer, also known as leukemia, and is currently undergoing intensive chemotherapy. In order to have a chance of recovery, Katharina urgently needs support from potential stem cell donors. The GLG Werner Forßmann Klinikum Eberswalde and DKMS, an international non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer, have teamed up to organize a registration campaign. This will take place on June 27, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the clinic, where everyone has the opportunity to register as a donor.
In addition to the registration campaign, a cake bazaar will take place in the hospital's emergency center, the proceeds of which will also benefit DKMS. Such initiatives are crucial because every 12 minutes a person in Germany is diagnosed with blood cancer. This disease is one of the most common forms of cancer in children and many of them rely on stem cell donation to survive. The support for Katharina can also be followed via Instagram, where regular updates about her health are published.
Stem cell donation made easy
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DKMShas various ways for those interested to register as a stem cell donor. Among the methods, peripheral stem cell collection and bone marrow collection are the most common. During peripheral stem cell collection, which is used in around 90% of cases, the stem cells are obtained from the blood using apheresis. This involves creating an access into both arm veins, similar to dialysis. Before the collection, the donors receive a medication that stimulates the production of stem cells for five days. The collection itself takes three to five hours, and donors can usually leave the hospital the same day.
In contrast, during bone marrow collection, which occurs in around 10% of donations, bone marrow is taken from the iliac crest. This procedure is done under general anesthesia and the donors usually have to stay in the hospital for one to two nights. Despite the greater complexity of bone marrow collection, the health risk is low because a careful medical preliminary examination must be carried out.
Insights into the numbers
The importance of stem cell donations cannot be overstated. In 2019, around 1,900 people registered as stem cell donors with the DKMS every day. Globally, this number amounted to more than 3,300 new registrations per day. Despite the large number of registered donors, one in ten patients cannot find a suitable donor. It is therefore particularly important to recruit young people between the ages of 17 and 30 as potential donors in order to increase the chances of successful treatment.
Since its founding in 1991, DKMS has helped over 82,000 people worldwide. These impressive numbers underline the necessity and urgency of actions like the one in Eberswalde to save even more lives.
That's why it's time to get active yourself and register - for Katharina and for all the others who are hoping for a second chance in life. More information about registration and stem cell donation is available directly on the website DKMS.