From year to year, knowledge about bone marrow donation is getting wider, and when people’s awareness grows, they are more likely to register as potential donors. Over the last few years, the number of Poles ready to donate stem cells from peripheral blood or bone marrow has multiplied several times, and the Polish donor registry already has over 850 people. These optimistic statistics are the result of campaigns conducted by foundations such as DKMS Polska, which make the public aware that bone marrow transplantation is the only chance for recovery for many patients with blood cancer. Who are the people who decide to help?
The list of registered bone marrow donors includes famous people such as the popular volleyball player Paweł Zagumny, actor Piotr Adamczyk, or actress Marta Żmuda-Trzebiatwska, but also students, soldiers, paramedics, lawyers, doctors, journalists, insurance agents, teachers, accountants … property status does not matter here and does not make anyone a better or worse donor. To become a potential bone marrow donor, just go to the website of the DKMS Polska Foundation (http://www.dkms.pl) and order the registration package. You can also come to one of the Bone Marrow Donor Days organized throughout the country by the DKMS Polska Foundation. The registration itself in the database involves filling in the application form and donating a sample of genetic material (a smear from the mucosa of the inner part of the cheek or 4 ml of blood).
– Every registration campaign, regardless of the result, is like fixing the world, replenishing the hope of patients with blood cancer. Despite the little knowledge and awareness of people, there are people who can gather strength and devote time – says Tomasz Ramuś, a volunteer during the student action promoting bone marrow donation.
Once registered as a potential donor, each candidate may be asked to donate bone marrow. One of the people who joined the base and gave the patient a chance for a second life is Joanna Milke – The joy and satisfaction was great. The mere membership in the DKMS database and the distinction that I was the one who could help, does not make me feel like a hero. Others call me that. It’s nice and all the words of appreciation and admiration I can hear, but that’s not the most important thing about it. It was not for these words that I decided to give a part of myself. There was one keynote – this is about human life – there is no withdrawal option here. What I have decided does not hurt, but it helps. For my part, I did what I should have done. Now I keep my fingers crossed for my “twin sister” and I am waiting impatiently for the news about her health – says Dawczyni.
Organised by DKMS Foundation the project of registering potential bone marrow donors among students, last year also supported by members of the popular band Curly Heads, whose leader is the well-known and popular Dawid Podsiadło. – The idea of donating bone marrow is a big deal – says Dawid Podsiadło. “That’s why we at Curly Heads sign it with both hands,” add the other team members.
Curly Heads ambassadors of the DKMS Foundation campaign: Dwa Swabs and Do Bazy
Team members joined the base as potential donors. Their attitude expresses support for the idea of donation, inspiring other young people to act and paying attention to the mission of the DKMS Foundation, which is to find a donor for every patient in need of a transplant.
The DKMS Baza Donców Komórek Macierzystych Foundation has been operating in Poland since 2008 as an independent non-profit organization. Over the past 6 years, over 730 potential donors have been registered in Poland, and over 2200 of them have given a part of themselves to those in need. When registering, remember that human life may depend on this decision. In the event that we are the genetic twin of the patient, we give him the most precious gift – the chance to recover.