September 16 is marked World Bone Marrow Donor Day. Since 2015, this day has been celebrated every third Saturday in September to remind of the importance of registering in the registers of voluntary donors of hematopoietic stem cells, donating cord blood stem cells, and to thank all the wonderful people who took the time to donate a part of themselves for sick people to save their lives.
To date, 167 donors from the Croatian Bone Marrow Donor Registry have donated a part of themselves to give hope for life to completely unknown people! It is not only about the 167 sick people who needed a transplant, but about their families and friends, about the people who love them. With this act, the donors give them more shared moments in this world, more love and happiness that they will be able to experience together. We often hear: “But it goes without saying, everyone would help, everyone would agree to donate their bone marrow if they knew it could save someone’s life!” Unfortunately, it doesn’t go without saying, but it is immensely valuable, selfless and noble, and restores faith in people just when we all give up a bit and gives hope that everything will be fine after all.
If we could describe to you the happiness, love and peace that the donors we had the honor of meeting feel when they know that they have helped someone (especially when they had the opportunity to meet the people to whom they donated their hematopoietic stem cells), we believe that everyone who has not yet joined the Croatian Registry, would be motivated enough. If we could describe to you the modesty, gratitude and joy of life felt by the recipients of those stem cells that we had the honor to meet, we believe that you would not wait even a second to join the Croatian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
For additional motivation, below you can read statistical data from the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) and the Croatian Bone Marrow Donor Registry and the Ana Rukavina Foundation:
• The WMDA of which the Croatian Registry is also a member, today counts a total of 41. 409.464 potential donors of hematopoietic stem cells
• 63.209 number of potential donors registered in the Croatian Registry (62, 341 HLA typed samples).
• From 2009, when the first non-related transplant from the Croatian Registry was carried out until today, 167 transplants from the Croatian Registry have been carried out (121 for sick people from Croatia and 46 for sick people from abroad).
Courageous, selfless and big-hearted, 167 donors from the Croatian Registry offered help to 167 people and their families all over Croatia and the world.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts from all of us at the Ana Rukavina Foundation and sincere congratulations to donors on the occasion of World Bone Marrow Donor Day!