Urgently wanted: stem cell donor for sick Gröbenzellers!

Urgently wanted: stem cell donor for sick Gröbenzellers!

On October 11, 2025, Ulf A.'s wife, Sara A., is organizing a typing campaign for stem cell and bone marrow donors in the Gröbenzell community center. The occasion is dramatic because Ulf A. has been suffering from acute leukemia since July 17th and urgently needs a suitable donor. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rathausstraße 1 (1st floor) and is open to healthy people between the ages of 17 and 45. It's a great opportunity to help not only Ulf, but also other leukemia patients who need donations. The uncomplicated registration can be done both on site and online on the Bone Marrow Donation Bavaria (AKB) website under the selection “Ulf Gröbenzell” in the pull-down menu.

Ulf A. is a committed businessman and runs an international software company with around 50 employees. After 23 years together, 15 of which they have been married, he and Sara have three sons aged 7, 11 and 13. Your call for typing could save the father of the family's life. In Germany, over 13,000 people develop leukemia or similar blood formation disorders every year, and stem cell donation is often the last hope for these patients, as the German Health Portal reports. However, the probability of finding a suitable donor is highly dependent on registrations in the databases.

The process of stem cell donation

The typing itself is carried out using a simple blood or oral mucosa sample, which can be conveniently taken at home or carried out at a blood donation facility. The German Society for Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology makes it clear that registration in a stem cell database does not oblige you to donate later.

If a potential donor can be identified, stem cell collection is usually performed via a procedure called apheresis. Here, the stem cells in the body are stimulated using a medication before they are removed via special accesses. Hospitalization is often not necessary and the body regenerates the removed cells within a few weeks. In some cases, bone marrow can also be removed under general anesthesia, but this method is the exception.

Challenges and opportunities

Finding suitable donors is often challenging because it is not just genetic matches that are important. Statistically speaking, only 25% of patients rely on related donors, as the majority have to rely on third-party donors. The DKMS German Bone Marrow Donor Database is intensively committed to educating and recruiting potential donors in order to overcome the challenges, because every 45 minutes someone in Germany gets leukemia.

The need for stem cell donors is continually growing, but at the same time there are many prejudices and lack of knowledge about the stem cell donation process. It's easy to do something good and possibly save someone's life. The campaign in Gröbenzell offers an excellent opportunity to take the first step and become part of this important mission.

If you would like to help, you should take the time and take part to get typed. A small contribution can make a big difference - not just for Ulf, but for many other affected people who are waiting for a donation.