Four years ago today, the decision was brought for the Foundation to be established and formally and legally begin its activities.
With the Foundation’s establishment contract, and in accordance with Ana’s wish and at the initiative of Ana’s family, the Croatian Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Vjesnik, the registration process for our Foundation began on January 8, 2007. With great joy we received the decision regarding our registration precisely on this date, the day of love. A love for life was Ana’s message in her letter which expressed the importance of expanding the Registry of voluntary bone marrow and stem cell donors in hope that many people would find the saviors of their lives in that Registry.
According to the advice of medical experts in hematology, the Foundation added the establishment of the Cord Blood Bank as one of its goals, and the Bank was indeed opened on Ana’s birthday on March 28, 2007.
For a little more than the past four years, the Foundation has succeeded to sensibilize more than 33,000 new potential bone marrow and stem cell donors, as well as inspire more than one thousand new mothers to donate cord blood. Until now, more than 22,000 blood samples from potential donors have been tissue typed and added to the World Registry, as well as more than 1,000 cord blood transplants.
Until today, these results have meant salvation for EIGHT patients in Croatia and abroad who have hematological diseases.
Dear friends of the Foundation, we are proud of everything we have achieved together and we call upon you to continue to support Ana’s and our mission!