For the first time, the life of a patient in Croatia has been saved by way of a successful stem cell transplantation from a donor found in the Croatian Registry of voluntary bone marrow donors. Blood samples that were stored in the domestic Registry have helped Croatian patients suffering from leukemia, thereby fulfilling the mission of the Ana Rukavina Foundation.
A matching HLA stem cell donor has been found and will save the life of a patient that is suffering from leukemia in Croatia for the first time. Until now, blood samples from the Registry have saved the lives of three patients abroad, and the discovery of a matching donor in Croatia represents the beginning of achieving the praise worthy goal of helping all citizens in the Republic of Croatia who are fighting with this serious sickness.
“The transplantation of stem cells from the Registry of voluntary bone marrow donors achieves the planned mission that has taken many years of hard work in order to start saving lives in Croatia. This is a happy day for all those who have worked hard and contributed to support the activities of the Foundation. All of the effort that we have invested has paid off, even if we only save one life,” said the medical director of the Ana Rukavina Foundation, Mirando Mrsić, MD, PhD.
The work of the Ana Rukavina Foundation has significantly contributed to raising public awareness about hematological diseases and to expanding the Registry of voluntary bone marrow donors from a mere 150 donors to 33,000. In the future, the Registry of voluntary bone marrow donors will continue its core function of saving lives in Croatia and abroad.