Support for the DKMS Chile transplant clinic
I have already formulated a clear donation goal with the DKMS in Chile: we want to finance with the incoming donations an Apheresis systemfor a new transplant clinic in Chile. This is a medical device with which certain components, e.g. B. plasma, platelets or white blood cells, are taken from a person's blood and the remaining blood components are returned to the person. Apheresis can be used to treat various diseases, including autoimmune diseases, blood diseases and neurological diseases, and is primarily necessary for the collection of donor stem cells.
I am convinced that this fundraising goal will sustainably improve the survival chances of leukemia patients in South America. Since DKMS has been operating in Chile since 2018, the rate of finding a suitable stem cell donor has increased from 30% to 50%. In 2023 approximately 130 donations were performed, approximately equally to Chilean and foreign patients. The biggest problem in Chile, however, is the limited availability of apheresis systems in the state clinics that work with the DKMS. This often results in long waiting times, which unfortunately significantly reduces the chance of a successful transplant. A new DKMS-run transplant clinic should increase availability, reduce costs and thus save lives. The transplant clinic should have three new apheresis systems, one of which I would like to contribute with your help.
In specific we are talking about the BConor of the medical technology company Terumo BCT, which specializes in blood management, cell therapy and regenerative medicine. BConor is designed to help blood donation centers improve their efficiency, productivity and quality control. With this apheresis system, around 109 additional donations can be carried out in the first year. In totalan investment of approx. 65.000 EUR will be required.
| Investments | Description | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Apheresis device | Extraction of the stem cells | 61.239 € |
| Extraction of the stem cells | Medication, medical care and execution of stem cell harvesting | 4.350 € |
| Medical chair for the stem cell donor | including devices for measuring vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate etc.) & drug control | 3.943 € |
| Clinical refrigerator | Storage of the stem cells | 1.630 € |
| Typing of potential donors | Evaluation in the laboratory: determination of the HLA characteristics | 25 € |
Donations for a transplant clinic in Chile
All donations go directly to DKMS Germany, which forwards the money to DKMS Chile for the implementation of the project to set up a transplant center. The total cost of building the clinic is 250.000 €. But beyond that, further investments are necessary, such as the apheresis device, which is required for the extraction of stem cells from the donor's blood. The transplant clinic is said to be up to speed upon completion 90 donations per year enable. The costs for the care, medication and execution of the stem cell donation also amount to approx. € 4.350 per donation.
| Investments | Description | Costs |
|---|---|---|
| Apheresis device | Extraction of the stem cells | 61.239 € |
| Extraction of the stem cells | Medication, medical care and execution of stem cell harvesting | 4.350 € |
| Medical chair for the stem cell donor | including devices for measuring vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate etc.) & drug control | 3.943 € |
| Clinical refrigerator | Storage of the stem cells | 1.630 € |
| Typing of potential donors | Evaluation in the laboratory: determination of the HLA characteristics | 25 € |
If we can collect donations for an apheresis device, for example, we will achieve that we can give 90 people access to a stem cell donation per year - often the only hope for leukemia patients. But even beyond that, we are achieving a lasting effect with the establishment of the transplant clinic. Through continuous improvement, the costs of stem cell donation can be lowered and the operating costs per donation can be reduced. This means that even more blood cancer patients can be granted access to the transplant. I also hope that it will also send out a signal for the region. On the one hand, the awareness of blood cancer and hopefully also the willingness to donate or register increases, on the other hand, further transplant clinics and initiatives in other countries on the South American continent could follow - and thus the situation and chances of recovery for blood cancer patients in South America could be improved in the long term!
Why it's so important ...
Worldwide every 27 seconds a person gets blood cancer!
Blood cancer can affect anyone, anytime! In Germany someone gets blood cancer every 12 minutes. Worldwide it is even every 27 seconds. There are no specific signs of blood cancer that can be used to make a diagnosis, as all symptoms can occur in different circumstances. For example: fever, weight loss, fatigue, spontaneous bleeding, swollen lymph nodes, and paleness. (Source: DKMS)
According to US statistics, the lifetime risk of developing some form of leukemia is 1,6%. So nearly 2 in 100 people will receive the devastating diagnosis of "leukemia" during their lifetime. However, medical progress has significantly improved the 5-year survival rate of leukemia sufferers - from around 33% in 1975 to 65% in the period 2011-2017. (Source: NIH)
The chances of surviving such a disease, however, are very unevenly distributed - the advances in medicine are often limited to the highly developed countries. Estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide reveal that around 41% of leukemia sufferers in Germany currently die - in South America, however, 67% die. In developed countries, people are more likely to develop leukemia - the incidence is around 50% higher than in South America - the age-adjusted mortality rate per 100.000 inhabitants is, however, almost identical to 3,4 in Germany and 3,6 in South America or in South America even higher. (Source: IARC)
This difference certainly has many factors: the infrastructure of the medical sector, the state guarantee of medical services or the availability of drugs, to name just a few - but we have the means to save many human lives and to give them new hope. With around 25.700 cases a year, around 6.600 lives could be saved in South America alone if these people received the same treatment as in Germany. The difference becomes even more dramatic if we take a look at the leukemia diseases in children and adolescents up to the age of 19. In Germany, the therapy is successful in approximately 92% of these cases - “only” about 8% of the sick die. If we use the data from South America, we see that approx. 44% of the sick do not survive - many lives of young adolescents, who had so many years ahead of them, end far too early. (Source: IARC)
Alicia's wish was to give many more people access to therapy - to give the people and affected families hope for a second life. DKMS Chile on site in South America takes on this task. The donor cards are networked worldwide, so that typing here in Germany can save a human life in South America. However, there is a strong discrepancy between awareness of leukemia diseases in South America and here in Germany. While around 7 million people are already registered with the DKMS in Germany, there are currently only 80.000 people in Chile (source: DKMS). It is important to expand the donation register on site, as it increases the likelihood of finding a suitable donor from the same ethnic group whose HLA characteristics match more frequently.
For all of these reasons and in accordance with Alicia's wish, with the "Ride for ALL" I would like to draw attention to the different prerequisites for surviving a leukemia disease and add a small piece of the puzzle in the fight against leukemia and for giving the chance of a second life for EVERYONE- regardless of national borders, place of birth or economic conditions.
Germany
- 7.010.343Rescuer*
Mortality per 100.000 people between 0-19 years:
0,4
Incidence per 100.000 people between 0-19 years:
5,0
Donor search unsuccessful
Up to 10%
South America
- 80.843Rescuer*
Mortality per 100.000 people between 0-19 years:
1,9
Incidence per 100.000 people between 0-19 years:
4,3
Donor search unsuccessful
Up to 58%
* Potential, registered donors at DKMS
Germany
- 7.010.343
- Potential lifesavers *
- Mortality per 100.000 people between 0-19 years:
0,4
- Incidence per 100.000 people between 0-19 years:
5,0
- Donor search unsuccessful
∼10%
South America
- 80.843
- Potential lifesavers *
- Mortality per 100.000 people between 0-19 years:
1,9
- Incidence per 100.000 people between 0-19 years:
4,3
- Donor search unsuccessful
∼58%
Support now!
What actually is leukemia?
Leukemia is also known colloquially under the collective term blood cancer. Leukemias are a subgroup of various malignant diseases of the hematopoietic system in which normal blood formation is disturbed by the uncontrolled proliferation of malignant blood cancer cells. These degenerate, malignant cells displace the red blood cells (erythrocytes), the white blood cells (leukocytes) and the blood platelets (thrombocytes), which can no longer carry out their vital tasks, for example transporting oxygen, fighting infections or stopping bleeding. Leukemia means "white blood" and refers to a variety of types of blood cancers that start with white blood cells (leukocytes).
Depending on which subgroup of white blood cells the degenerated cells developed, leukemias are divided into two groups: myeloid leukemia and lymphatic leukemia. Myeloid leukemias develop from progenitor cells in the bone marrow, lymphatic leukemia from progenitor cells in the lymphatic system.
These groups can be further subdivided into chronic and acute leukemia. In the case of acute leukemia, the patient's state of health deteriorates rapidly, whereas chronic leukemia usually progresses much more slowly. Leukemia can occur at any age and even in childhood. Often a stem cell transplant is the only chance of survival for the affected patients: many of them are children and adolescents.
Source: world blood cancer day; DKMS
What is and does DKMS do?
The DKMS (Deutsche KnochenMarkSpenderdatei) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer. It was founded in Germany in 1991 by Dr. Peter Harf founded after his wife also fell ill with leukemia in 1990 and was dependent on a bone marrow donation. In Germany alone, around 3.600 people each year depend on finding their “genetic twin” somewhere in the world.
To date, more than 10,5 million life donors have been registered and the brokerage of stem cell donations has given them a second chance at life over 91.000 times - in a total of 57 countries around the world.
Last year, DKMS was able to find a suitable stem cell donor for 7.517 blood cancer patients around the world.
Source: DKMS
Why is registration so important?
Only around 30 percent of patients find a suitable donor within the family. If no suitable stem cell donor is found within one's own family, the search for an unrelated donor begins. In Germany alone, around 3.600 people each year depend on finding their “genetic twin” somewhere in the world, and unfortunately one in ten people still cannot find a suitable stem cell donor.
Given the innumerable possible combinations of HLA characteristics (human leukocyte antigens), it is not surprising that the search for a donor is often difficult. It is all the more important that as many as possible can be typed. The global expansion of the database is also necessary, as there is a higher chance of receiving a donation from people of the same ethnic origin.
Source: DKMS