Colleagues of Martina Wende, gardener at the University of Leipzig’s Botanischen Garten, have sent out an appeal for people to register as blood marrow donors to try to save her life. She was initially diagnosed with leukemia in 2012 and chemotherapy worked then, but the cancer has now returned. Unfortunately, a search for a tissue match worldwide has produced no results, and now her family and the DKMS (German Bone Marrow Donor Center) are organizing a registration drive locally to try to attract new potential donors.
The registration session will take place Saturday, March 5th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Marriott Hotel, Am Hallischen Tor 1, 04109 Leipzig. It’s free of cost, and can be done via a blood or saliva sample (cheek swab). If you have any questions, you can e-mail Antje Starke (antje-starke@web.de).
If you can’t make it on Saturday, you can register to become a bone marrow donor for anyone in the world at any blood donation center or by sending a saliva sample to DKMS. You can also help by spreading the word.
– Ana Ribeiro
