DKMS non-profit GmbH
Dresden (ots)
On April 1st, the first removal center operated by DKMS in Dresden started work. This is a significant step for the international non-profit organization dedicated to curing blood cancer patients. With its own Collection Center, DKMS will in future accompany a larger proportion of stem cell donors on their entire journey – from new registration to collection to aftercare. This was made possible by outsourcing parts of the Cellex Collection Center Dresden to DKMS.
Giving patients a second chance at life with a stem cell donation is a selfless act of charity. More than 11.5 million people from seven countries are registered with the DKMS as potential lifesavers. More than 105,000 of them have donated stem cells in the past 32 years. “We are heartfelt thankful to all the amazing people who support our lifesaving mission. We want to make the unique experience of stem cell donation as enjoyable as possible for our donors. Along with many valued partners who do the sampling for us, we can now choose our donors ourselves accompany”, says dr Elke New YearCEO of the DKMS Group.
Experienced team of experts looks after donors
In recent months, preparations have been made to spin off parts of the Cellex Collection Center in Dresden to the DKMS Collection Center. This has now started its work as a non-profit GmbH on April 1, 2023. In the coming months, this will also take place at the Cologne site. “Cellex has been our reliable partner for 20 years and has carried out more than 50,000 stem cell collections for us. We are therefore very much looking forward to continued trusting cooperation with the committed and experienced teams of experts in Dresden and Cologne”, says dr Elke New Year.
Cellex and DKMS share a long common history. Founded in 2001 Professor Gerard Ehninger Cellex in Dresden and then in 2009 also set up the removal center in Cologne. “DKMS and Cellex have always worked hand in hand to provide life-saving stem cells from healthy donors to patients. The transition ensures that the successful work of the Cellex Collection Center will be continued by DKMS in the interest of all blood cancer patients worldwide”, says Professor Gerhard Ehninger, Managing Partner of Cellex Cell Professionals, who was a co-founder of DKMS.
“The aim is to offer our donors the best possible service. It is a great opportunity to start our collection center with such an experienced and reliable team. The safety and well-being of our donors is our top priority”, says Sirko spirit, Managing Director of the DKMS Collection Center. Outstanding doctors and dedicated coordination and nursing teams carry out the preliminary examinations there and enable hope-giving collections – around six stem cell collections a day and up to four additional bone marrow collections per week. Both are done according to the highest standards that apply to pharmaceutical companies and with the greatest care.
The first withdrawals have already taken place, further information and moving donor stories can be found here.
Two possible ways to donate: stem cell apheresis or bone marrow harvesting
With the Collection Center, DKMS expands its competence in the areas of stem cell apheresis and bone marrow extraction. The decision as to which procedure is used depends on the requirements of the patient. Donor requests will be considered where possible.
In the peripheral stem cell collection (Apheresis), which is used in around 90 percent of cases, the stem cells are taken from the blood on an outpatient basis. The donation takes about three to a maximum of five hours. The donor leaves the collection center on the same day. In the Bone marrow harvest about one liter of a mixture of bone marrow and blood is removed from the donor’s iliac crest in a minor surgical procedure under general anesthesia. It contains about five percent of all bone marrow, which completely regenerates in the body within a few weeks.
Increase in withdrawal capacities
The cooperates throughout Germany DMMS with several certified collection centers. DKMS will continue to work with you in a spirit of trust in the future and together ensure that patients are given a second chance at life. After all, every 27 seconds someone in the world is diagnosed with blood cancer. Many of them depend on a life-saving stem cell donation. It is therefore important that sufficient withdrawal capacities are available. “With the DKMS Collection Center we want to meet the increasing demand and ensure that patients receive their donation at the right time. We are therefore planning to expand our capacities and will be moving to new and larger premises in Dresden this year”, explained Sirko spirit.
DKMS will celebrate the reopening of the two locations in Dresden and Cologne in the course of the year.
All information and downloads for the opening of the DKMS Collections Center can be found in our Media Center and the story of the first donor meeting in the new collection center below /news/donor-meeting-dkms-cc/
Press contact:
communication
DKMS gGmbH
0221 – 94 05 82 3311
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Original content from: DKMS non-profit GmbH, transmitted by news aktuell
