Stem cell donation

Blood cancer: get typed and save lives

58 people were typed in Gols.(Bild: Gemeinde Gols)

May 28 was - as many people don't know - World Blood Cancer Day. Stem cell donors are being sought again! The "Geben für Leben" association makes it possible to be typed at home using a cheek swab. How it works. 

Every day, an average of three people across Austria are diagnosed with leukemia. Every year, around 300 of them need a stem cell donation in order to survive. For ten percent of Austrian patients, no genetic twin can be found in the global database. This is where the association "Geben für Leben - Leukämiehilfe Österreich" comes into play. The association is calling on potential donors between the ages of 17 and 45 to be typed. "Typing is as simple as taking a cheek swab," says Dr. Barbara Pelzmann, medical director of the "Geben für Leben" association.

Aiming for 25,000 typings
The cheek swab kits can be conveniently ordered at www.gebenfuerleben.at and delivered to your home. Only 3.2 percent are typed as stem cell donors in Austria (compared to 22.5 percent in Cyprus). The association's goal is 25,000 new typings per year. Because when someone falls ill, everyone counts. "The probability of finding your genetic twin is around 1:500,000," explains the doctor. Even with around 42 million registered donors worldwide, no suitable lifesaver can be found for 10 percent of affected Austrians. Last Sunday, 58 new potential donors registered at a typing campaign in the "Summakuchl" in Gols.

A typing kit can simply be ordered for home delivery.(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

You know what it's like to save a life 
Milla Prenner from Buchschachen has already been able to donate her stem cells. She says: "I didn't think twice about it at the time and have never regretted it. If I have the chance to save a life with a little effort, then I have to do it." Her stem cells went to Germany. Peter Jandrasits feels the same way. He has also donated - without regretting it. "It wasn't a big deal for me. But for the person who received my stem cells, it was a matter of life and death. You don't think about it. You just help."

Three typing campaigns are planned in Burgenland in the near future: On June 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the FH Burgenland, Eisenstadt Study Center in room E.HG 022, also on June 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Pinkafeld at the Pinkafeld Study Center in seminar room 1 and on June 15 as part of the Nightrun in Großpetersdorf. All dates can still be found at www.gebenfuerleben.at