When the Bonn arrived, it was announced that a mate from the "Bonn" had fallen seriously ill. As reported by the Wilhelmshavener Zeitung, which exclusively accompanied the arrival with naval editor Michael Halama, the navy has already taken action.
"Unfortunately, there is always unpleasant news on sea voyages," says Lieutenant Captain Daniel A., press officer of the "Bonn". "During our stay in Souda Bay on Crete, a sick crew member was flown back to Germany: Diagnosed with leukaemia." DKMS (see below) knows that every twelve minutes someone in Germany receives this terrible diagnosis of blood cancer, and every 27 seconds worldwide. Many patients cannot survive without a life-saving stem cell donation, and the search for suitable donors is always a race against time. The quicker a "match" is found, the greater the chances of survival for people with the disease.
The affected soldier, a 59-year-old reservist, authorised the ship's command to discuss his illness on board. The ship's doctor, Chief Medical Officer Elisabeth L., then requested a typing kit from DKMS, which was brought on board on Wednesday after the storm passed over northern Germany. She also explained to the crew about typing, which involves using three cotton swabs to collect tissue from the oral mucosa, and the possibility of donating stem cells.
Two crew members have already donated stem cells. One of them is the Protestant military pastor Dr Katja Bruns. "After my typing in summer 2020, a possible 'match' was quickly found, which was confirmed by further tests - and I then donated stem cells in December 2020."
Before entering the naval base on Thursday morning, the crew of the "Bonn" had the opportunity to take part in the typing campaign. Inclusion in the donor file was also a matter of course for the commander, frigate captain Eike Deußen. He had once again appealed to the servicemen and women to take part in the campaign during the muster.
Marineforum online joins this appeal.
Anyone wishing to register as a potential donor can easily do so online at dkms.de: The registration kit can be conveniently sent to your home via an online form. Using the enclosed cotton swabs, you take a swab of your cheek mucosa and send the swabs back to the DKMS laboratory together with a signed declaration of consent. After registration, DKMS analyses the relevant tissue characteristics in the laboratory and then provides the pseudonymised results of the sample for the worldwide donor search.
To the DKMS:
DKMS is an international non-profit organisation whose aim is to give as many blood cancer patients worldwide as possible a second chance at life. It was founded in Germany in 1991 by Dr Peter Harf and has since ensured that more and more patients receive a life-saving stem cell donation. More than 11.5 million potential donors are registered with DKMS, and to date the organisation has arranged more than 105,000 stem cell donations. In addition to Germany, DKMS is active in the USA, Poland, the UK, Chile, India and South Africa.
Text: Halama
Photos: hsc
With the kind support of the Wilhelmshavener Zeitung
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