German stem cell donor database

Logo of the German stem cell donor center

The German Stem Cell Donor File (DSSD) is an amalgamation of the stem cell and bone marrow donor files of some DRK blood donation services. The aim of the DSSD is to improve the chances of recovery for people with leukemia and diseases of the hematopoietic system by registering potential donors for stem cell transplants .

history

In the 1980s, individual transfusion medicine institutes of the DRK blood donation service founded stem cell donor files with potential HLA-typed donors. A cooperation developed in 2007 between the donor files of the DRK Blood Donation Services North and Baden-Württemberg-Hessen, which the Bone Marrow Stem Cell Donation Center Ulm (KSS-Ulm) and the bone marrow donor database of the DRK Blood Donation Service East joined in 2009. The DSSD emerged from this alliance in 2009.

The number of potential donors in the DSSD's donor files in 2009 was around 200,000. Thus, after the German bone marrow donor database and the Stefan Morsch Foundation, the DSSD belongs to the group of large files in Germany and is roughly on a par with other registers such as B. the AKB .

New potential donors are often acquired as part of typing campaigns , in which stem cell donors with suitable tissue characteristics are sought for sick people. Since 1996, the DSSD donor files have carried out around 400 typing campaigns and other information events.

Financial

Each typing results in laboratory costs of approx. 40 euros due to the examination of the blood samples taken. Since these costs are not borne by the health insurance companies, the German stem cell donor database is dependent on donations from private individuals, companies and other funding agencies.