The Tobias Register is there for patients with life-threatening diseases to find the right donors of blood stem cells.
A type of cell that can create new blood.
Matching sensor
For the donation of blood stem cells to work, it is required that the donor and recipient have the same type of HLA type, otherwise the recipient's immune system will attack the donor's blood stem cells.
In many cases, relatives can act as donors, but the majority of patients need an outsider's cells.
Many do not find donors
Although there are many donors around the world, many patients never find a donor.
Michaela Stany is the press contact at the Tobias Register.
- This is where the Tobias Register comes in.
One should not be afraid that it is some kind of DNA register.
That is absolutely not the case.
Just a nice and simple effort that can save another person's life, says Michaela Stany.
Record number of registrations
In the last week, a record number of people have registered with the Tobias Register.
It depends on Robert Lindman's gripping story.
- It is a huge commitment, relatively few people know us.
But when it comes to a patient that people can relate to, we really have our peaks.
And so it is around Christmas when people want to be involved and contribute, says Michaela Stany.
She emphasizes that it is important that a donor does not withdraw once the right match has been found.
- Then it's really about life and death, says Michaela Stany.