Last year, DKMS was a partner at the surf festival on Fehmarn, where it called on people to register as stem cell donors. The organisation is now looking for a suitable donor for seven-year-old Mara Sophie, who has a particularly aggressive form of leukaemia. If a suitable donor is found, she can be cured with a transplant.
A suitable "genetic twin" must be found for this. DKMS is calling on people to register as donors. To be included in the register, the organisation sends out a registration kit with cotton swabs, which anyone can use to take a sample at home and send it back. The data is then added to the register and matched with suitable donors for Mara Sophie and other affected people.
- More information and registration at dkms.de
By registering as a stem cell donor, you have the chance to save the life of Mara Sophie and other people! Please register!" (Mara's family)
DKMS tells Mara's story: "At the beginning of December 2022, everything changed. One infection followed the next. She became exhausted very quickly and lost all desire to do all her usual favourite activities. At the beginning of this year, she received a shock diagnosis of AML (acute myeloid leukaemia). Her leukaemia was caused by a gene mutation KMT2a:MLL4 and is one of the most aggressive forms of leukaemia. Mara Sophie now urgently needs a stem cell donation!
After the diagnosis, chemotherapy started the very next day: the first and second blocks of intensive, high-dose chemotherapy have already been completed. Mara Sophie is a fighter and very sad that her blood is sick and had to stay in hospital for 34 days because of the severe side effects.
Mara Sophie is currently doing well, given the circumstances. The highlight was that she was able to celebrate her 7th birthday at home on Valentine's Day. Now the family is travelling between the clinic and their home in Fehmarn. Three more blocks of chemotherapy have to be completed before the life-saving transplant and the family is hoping for a successful search for Mara Sophie's "genetic twin".
- More information and registration at dkms.de
Tobias Frauen
Editor
