Record for humanity: 8,349 stem cell donors save life!

Record for humanity: 8,349 stem cell donors save life!

Ulm, Deutschland - In 2022, record-breaking 8,349 People Stem cells. This astonishing number reflects the increase in willingness to donate and offers seriously ill patients worldwide a new chance of survival, especially in blood cancer. The Central Bone Markspender Register Germany (ZKRD) , the largest national stem cell donor register worldwide, has provided this information and found that around 30 percent of all worldwide stem cells are from German donors.

of the donations about 26 percent went to national recipients, while 74 percent of international patients. These figures show that Germany plays a central role in global fight against blood cancer. According to the ZKRD, over 10 million potential donors are currently recorded in the register, which significantly increases the search options for suitable donors.

services of the ZKRD

The ZKRD was founded in 1992 and is based in Ulm. It acts as a hub for the donor search process and compares anonymized profiles of donors with the data of patients who need a blood stem cell transplant. Around 60 employees process search queries from both home and abroad. 9 out of 10 patients in Germany find a suitable donor within a few weeks, which is made possible by the specially developed matching program Optimatch®

The comprehensive services of the ZKRD range from coordination and transport to customs clearance, which makes it much easier to manage stem cell donations. ZKRD also has access to a database with data from 26 donor files and the majority of all internationally registered donors.

status of donations and patient care

In 2022 6.835 stem cell withdrawals in Germany. Of this, 639 came from the bone marrow and 6,196 from the peripheral blood of non -related donors. This shows the high willingness to donate stem in the population.

The chances of being selected as a potential donor are low, however, since the HLA characteristics of donors and patients must match. The ZKRD is a crucial resource for patients in whom no family member is considered as a donor. It ensures that a suitable donor can be found for 9 out of 10 seriously ill in Germany.

After finding the donation, the patient is intensive, which includes high -dose chemotherapy and possibly full -body radiation. The stem cells are then given to the patient as an infusion, and their effect is usually shown after 2 to 4 weeks, while a final assessment of the success of the treatment is possible after about 100 days.

In order to increase the number of registered potential donors, the ZKRD regularly organizes typing actions. These events are of great importance, since every new registration increases the chances for seriously ill patients to find a suitable donor.