Help Vanessa from Altomünster: Typing campaign on November 16th!

Help Vanessa from Altomünster: Typing campaign on November 16th!

Next Sunday, November 16th, the motto in Altomünster is: “Vanessa from Altomünster needs you!” 22-year-old Vanessa is fighting cancer, and in order to draw attention to the importance of stem cell donation, the BRK preparedness Altomünster and the Bone Marrow Donation Bavaria Campaign (AKB) are organizing a large typing campaign. The venue is the school gymnasium at Faberweg 15, which will be open from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Mayor Michael Reiter took over the patronage, a sign of support for the affected Vanessa and many other patients who urgently need a donor. In Germany in particular, over 30 people are diagnosed with leukemia or another disease of the blood-forming system every day. Unfortunately, many of them cannot find a suitable donor in the family.

Typing and its meaning

Anyone between the ages of 17 and 45 can register for the typing campaign. Typing takes place either through a cheek swab or a blood sample and is the first step towards registering as a stem cell donor. A remarkable statistic from Germany shows that only about 2% of registered donors actually donate stem cells. This highlights the importance of every registration in attracting potentially life-saving donors.

The AKB Foundation covers the costs of the typing, and every donor not only supports Vanessa, but also many other patients around the world. The results of the typing are usually transmitted within three months.

A celebration for the whole family

The event should not only be informative, but also offer a real family celebration. In addition to the opportunity to be typecast, there is also a colorful supporting program with food, drinks, music, a bouncy castle and face painting. The Altomünster Kolping family provides sweet treats with a cake buffet, while the parents' council of the “Kleine Strolche” kindergarten provides waffles.

In addition, the BRK rescue service, water rescue service and Altomünster fire department will be on site with vehicles to give visitors young and old an understanding of the work of the rescue services. The previous campaign “No cold coffee” at Altomünster train station had already attracted attention and pointed out the upcoming typing campaign.

There are 26 stem cell donor files in Germany, and the data is transmitted pseudonymously to the Central Bone Marrow Donor Register Germany (ZKRD), which provides international networks. This means that German donors are also available worldwide. The campaign receives special support from the President of the Bavarian State Parliament, Ilse Aigner, who has taken over the patronage of the AKB Foundation.

At a time when cancer is being diagnosed more and more frequently, an initiative like this is particularly important. As the Center for Cancer Registry Data at the Robert Koch Institute also points out, the numbers are alarming and an effective response to them is essential. Become part of this valuable initiative and help save lives!

For more information about the campaign and stem cell donation, visit the website Augsburger Allgemeine and AKB.