10,000 registrations as stem cell donors in a month after West Flanders 3-year-old girl’s mother called

The mother of three-year-old Rachael appealed for potential stem cell donors a month ago because her daughter is diagnosed with aplastic anaemia. Only a stem cell transplant can help her. Since the call, the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders has recorded over ten thousand registrations.

“This is certainly fantastic news, and we are calling on others to apply as well,” says Joachim Damon of the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. “But due to the large number of new registrations, we are a bit overwhelmed. We usually get around a hundred new registrations a month, so our people make every effort to process everything as quickly as possible. Candidates Donors should not panic if it takes some time before receiving a response.

Those who are included in the stem cell database must be between eighteen and forty years old. Even then, your chances of getting called are very slim. “On average, it takes twenty years for people to be called, until you’re sixty, so you can donate as a stem cell donor,” says Damon. “That’s why we only allow people in until their 40th birthday.”

Those who still wish to register can do so via www.stamceldonor.be.