A Ukrainian woman has become the first bone marrow donor for a foreigner
Kyiv • UNN
28-year-old Ukrainian Nelya became the first bone marrow donor for a foreign patient in the history of the Ukrainian registry. Her stem cells were successfully delivered to an Italian clinic for transplantation.
A Ukrainian woman has saved a foreign patient for the first time in the history of the Ukrainian bone marrow donor registry. Her cells were delivered to an Italian clinic. This was reported by the Ministry of Health, writes UNN.
Details
It is noted that 28-year-old Ukrainian Nelya accidentally learned about the opportunity to become a donor and, intrigued by the topic, filled out a registration form.
After registration, Nelya received a kit for collecting a DNA sample. The procedure was simple: it was necessary to swab the inner cheek with special sticks and send the samples back to the registry. After that, her data was entered into the Ukrainian bone marrow donor registry, which has over 14.7 thousand potential donors and is integrated into the global system with nearly 40 million donors.
When a patient in one of the clinics in Italy needed a transplant, the automated system began searching for a suitable donor. It turned out that Nelya was genetically compatible with the recipient.
The collection of stem cells took place at the National Children's Specialized Hospital Okhmatdyt and lasted several hours.
On the same day, the lifesaving cells were delivered by courier to the Italian clinic, where the patient was waiting for them.
The office of the Ukrainian registry called this case historic, as for the first time a Ukrainian donor helped a foreign patient. Until this moment, Ukrainian patients had received help from donors from Germany, France, Turkey, Poland, India, and the USA.
Supplement
The Ministry of Health reminded that one can join the donor registry on the official website of the Ukrainian bone marrow donor registry. To do this, it is necessary to fill out the required form, receive a special test kit by mail, collect the material, and send it to the address specified in the instructions.
