Gladbeck.
Max suffers from leukemia and urgently needs a stem cell donation. The Red Cross is calling for a large typing campaign in the town hall.
The Red Cross in Gladbeck is calling for a large typing campaign for Max. The six-year-old has leukemia and needs a stem cell donation. The Gladbecker DRK district association reacted quickly to this emergency and extended its upcoming blood donation appointment to include a typing campaign.
On Monday, January 9th, from 2 to 7 p.m. in the Gladbeck town hall (Friedrichstraße 53), anyone who is interested can register as a stem cell donor, explains the district association chairman Wilhelm Walter. The reporting in the WAZ drew attention to the boy’s fate, and now it’s a matter of helping.
No family member is eligible to be a stem cell donor
The six-year-old and his family had actually hoped for a Christmas miracle that one of his brothers might be a potential donor. However, the family now knows that this hope has not been fulfilled. The result of the investigations is available, no family member is eligible as a stem cell donor, reports Anna Beutler. “The search is now being expanded nationally and internationally. So the search for Maxi’s genetic twin continues.”
DRK asks all blood donors to register as stem cell donors
Anyone who registers as a donor next Monday can therefore help – and not only Max, but also other people who are dependent on this type of therapy. Wilhelm Walter promises: “On that day we will ask all of our blood donors whether they also want to be typed.” If they agree, around 0.4 milliliters more blood will be drawn from them for typing. Around 150 people regularly come to the DRK appointments.
But Gladbeck residents who do not donate blood are also called upon to register for the donor database. No blood will be drawn from you for this. Instead, a swab is taken from the mouth with a cotton swab, which is then examined later. “Such a smear costs nothing and saves lives,” Wilhelm Walter campaigned for as many supporters as possible. It was all agreed with Max’s father, the family is very happy.
Donor data can be accessed anonymously from anywhere in the world
For the campaign, the DRK is working together with the West German Donor Center (WSZE), which in turn is jointly supported by the University Hospital Essen and the DRK Blood Donation Service West. The donor data is then sent anonymously to the central bone marrow donor register in Germany. Thanks to the international network, facilities looking for a stem cell donor can access it worldwide. Walter compares it to a database for organ donors, since there is also a wide exchange across national borders.
Whoever is a potential donor for Max or another patient will be informed. In most cases, the cells are then removed from the bloodstream via the so-called “peripheral stem cell donation”.
In September, the Gladbeck family received the leukemia diagnosis
Max’s mother Anna Beutler is overwhelmed by the willingness to help. There were many reactions to her step in public, not only the DRK offered to carry out a typing campaign. Other groups and institutions would also have suggested that to her. So it is quite possible that there will be other actions of this kind later.
In September, Max and his family received the diagnosis, initial chemotherapy seemed to be working well, and there was good hope. The setback came just before Christmas. A bone marrow biopsy revealed the cancer had returned. Another chemo is immediately initiated, and it is clear that Max needs a stem cell donation.
And since no family member is a suitable donor, the typing campaign becomes all the more important. As soon as Max’s diagnosis became known, his mother called for him to register as a donor. Because the more potential donors there are, the greater the chance for those who are dependent on such a therapy, the Gladbeckerin appealed.
Come by, register and save lives
Wilhelm Walter agrees. The typing campaign in the town hall is a simple and uncomplicated way to register. “It is not necessary to register, you can just drop by, bring your family and friends with you and help Max and other people in this way.”
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