2023-05-03 22:33:46
Anja Prause from Leverkusen saved the life of Marc Franke who was suffering from leukemia and HIV
In 2013, the former flight attendant Anja Prause (56) from Leverkusen gave the “Düsseldorf patient” Marc Franke (54), who was still unknown to her at the time, a second chance at life with her stem cell donation. The graduate engineer for electrical engineering suffered from acute myeloid leukemia – and from an HIV infection. He was healed of both by Anja Prause’s donation.
About a colleague Anja Attention to the DKMS at the end of 2011. The crew is preparing for the next short-haul flight when Anja’s colleague quickly types a birthday wish into her cell phone. This goes to a little girl whom she helped with a stem cell donation more than two years earlier. “This story inspired me and I immediately registered with the DKMS‘ Anya remembers. At the time, she had no idea that she would soon be donating.
Seven hours for a human life
When Anja received the request for a donation in December 2012, she was very happy. “The prospect of being able to save a life touched me deeply.One day before Valentine’s Day, on February 13, 2013, the stem cell donation took place in Cologne. It is connected to the stem cell separator for more than seven hours, which filters out the amount of stem cells required for recipient Marc. “That was quite a long time“, she says. And further: “But what are seven hours in a day for a whole human life.“
Anja Prause, who is married and has a son, is a positive person. “I enjoy life, am adventurous and the donation was a matter of course for me. Even when I was asked to donate platelets again six months later, I didn’t hesitate for a moment.“ Marc Franke unfortunately had a relapse.
Shortly thereafter, Anja suffered a stroke of fate: breast cancer. On the day of her first chemotherapy, in November 2014, she received the first anonymous letter from Marc. In it he thanks for the donations and reports how he is finally finding his way back to his everyday life. He also expresses the wish to meet her personally after the anonymity has been lifted.
„That made me very happy and very touched‘ says Anya. At that time she said to her husband: “If I don’t survive cancer, I can at least leave this world. I gave birth to a great child and saved a human life.“Your emotions are on a roller coaster. What luck for Marc, what bad luck for her.
But luck comes back to Anja. With the help of her family and friends, she endures chemotherapy and recovers. Anja also wants to get to know Marc personally. In the summer of 2015, the two met in a Cologne restaurant on the Rhine. Marc and she and both of their husbands hit it off right away. They talk for hours. Anja also learns from Marc about his HIV infection and the many medications he still had to take at the time. “I didn’t know that I had this gene mutation and I was all the happier that I was able to help Marc twice over“.
It is now a matter of the heart for Anja and Marc to explain the importance and simplicity of stem cell donation. “I still hear a lot of reservations and fears. In most cases, the donation is ambulatory and registration costs nothing. Every healthy person between the ages of 17 and 55 should register with the DKMS‘ says Anya. For Marc Franke, there is also a great need to use his example to dispel the unfortunately still widespread prejudices against people with HIV. “This stigma must end. There should be more platforms where this is talked about. In addition, there should be more offers to be tested for the virus. When I got my leukemia diagnosis, my first thought was – ‘finally a disease I can talk about.‘“
You can read more about stem cell transplantation for HIV in our Media Center: DKMS expert explains in an interview Professor Gero Hütterwhy Marc Franke, the “Düsseldorf patient”, could be cured twice – and why cases like this are so rare.
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