2023-08-29 05:32:03
Finding suitable donors is extremely difficult – by registering conscripts, sick people are supposed to get a second chance.
According to the Red Cross, three people in Austria develop blood cancer every day. The only way of survival for many of the patients is a stem cell donation. The problem: Finding a donor is extremely difficult. The odds of someone else being a candidate are about one in half a million.
For this reason, the circle of urgently needed potential donors is now to be expanded. After the usual voluntary blood donation, recruits in the federal army are now also being asked to enter themselves in the stem cell register by means of a cheek swab. This was announced by Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) and the Austrian Red Cross at a press conference.
Registration can save lives
“Soldiers can save lives, and not just in action,” emphasized Tanner. Every registration as a possible stem cell donor is important because it increases the chances of recovery for patients with malignant blood diseases such as leukemia, explained Red Cross President Gerald Schäfer. Around 30 million people worldwide are currently registered as possible stem cell donors, in Austria 118,658 people. Healthy people between the ages of 18 and 35 can register in this country. The donation is possible up to the age of 55.
Only every tenth registered person is contacted as a potential donor. An actual donation is only made in one percent after a new tissue comparison. In most cases, the stem cells can be obtained from the blood of the donor; a bone marrow donation is only necessary in every tenth case.
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