- Rostock Unimedizin is regaining its own stem cells
At the University Medical Center Rostock (UMR), stem cells are being harvested again since the beginning of the year to treat patients suffering from blood cancer. Health Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD) informed herself about the therapy and encouraged a typing for stem cell donation during a visit to the clinic.
"Typing is simple and quick. A swab of the mouth mucosa is sufficient to give someone perhaps the greatest gift there is - a healthy life," she said. She was very grateful that the clinic, with its transfusion medicine and the renewed stem cell therapy, was making a significant contribution to this.
Stem cells are important for cancer treatment. They are collected from patients or healthy stem cell donors in a process similar to blood washing and then used to treat patients with blood cancer.
Drese also informed herself about blood reserves. "We need more than 15,000 blood donations every day in Germany to help people who, for example, need blood reserves after accidents, operations, or severe illnesses," the minister emphasized. We are all dependent on the willingness of others to donate blood, as it cannot be artificially produced.
The Health Minister's visit to the clinic coincided with the start of the year, marked by the resumption of stem cell harvesting for cancer treatment. Drese highlighted the importance of regular blood donations, noting that the need for them exceeds 15,000 per day throughout the year.
