display
Nuremberg (dpa / lby) - Do a corona test and at the same time register as a potential stem cell donor - this will be possible in Nuremberg from Monday.
This is still unique in Germany.
The Bavarian Bone Marrow Donation Foundation (AKB) hopes that many test centers and practices will soon follow suit.
Due to the Corona crisis, significantly fewer people are currently being included in the donation databases, explained AKB expert Cornelia Kellermann.
Since autumn there have been no so-called typing campaigns in Bavaria where people could register as donors.
At the same time, thousands drop out because they are sick or have reached the age of 61.
"The danger here is that the databases will shrink," said Kellermann.
A stem cell donation can save the life of people with leukemia.
According to the AKB, however, this requires a donor whose tissue characteristics, at best, match the patient 100 percent.
The likelihood of this is very low, so a large number of potential donors is important.
display
The idea of combining the registration with the many corona tests every day came to the physician Falk Stirkat, who is responsible for several test stations in and around Nuremberg.
In a test run last week during a test campaign at a school, it had already worked well, said Stirkat.
All participants who were considered stem cell donors took part.
The potential stem cell donors made the swabs in their mouths themselves, said Kellermann.
The staff in the test center distributes the necessary test kits and also answers all questions about typing.
The campaign will start on Monday in a large test center in Nuremberg and will then gradually be expanded to include others in the city.
Other test station operators in Bavaria such as the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund and the RKT ambulance service also wanted to offer typing, said Stirkat.
He is now hoping for many more interested parties.
"It is important that the idea catches on throughout Germany."
display
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210423-99-319131 / 2
Info about the campaign