This noble event was held under the honorary patronage of the Mayor of Legnica Tadeusz Krzakowski and with his active participation. It was organized by the DKMS Polska Foundation – the Stem Cell Donor Database, with the participation of Legnickie Centrum Kultury, the police, the Municipal Guard, the State Fire Service, numerous volunteers, athletes, restaurateurs, artists and, of course, the residents of Legnica. Medical care during the campaign was provided by Ryszard Kępa, deputy chairman of the Municipal Council, assisted by paramedics and nurses from the Legnica hospital.
The campaign was organized mainly with Grzegorz Łukowski, a resident of our city who has been battling acute myeloid leukemia since April, in mind. Despite recently undergoing chemotherapy, Mr. Grzegorz took an active part in the campaign together with his wife and four-year-old daughter. He thanked all the potential donors and encouraged people to donate bone marrow. “This can save not only my life, but also the lives of other leukemia patients,” he said. “That is why, on behalf of myself and other patients, I would like to thank you very much for this gift of life. And I encourage you to donate bone marrow.”
“It would be wonderful if Grzegorz’s genetic twin were among the people who registered in Legnica over the past two days. That would make it possible to transplant bone marrow to him. Grzesiek wants to live so much,” says Krzysztof Piotrowski of MKS Miedź Legnica, one of the coordinators of the Legnica campaign. “It is encouraging to think that, thanks to the residents of Legnica, more than 500 people around the world have a chance at a new life. It is also important that public awareness has increased. Some of the people who came were convinced that they would undergo a painful procedure to collect bone marrow from the spine.”
Unfortunately, this stereotypical way of thinking still persists and often discourages potential donors. Yet, at the registration stage, trained volunteers simply touch the inside of the cheek with a cotton swab, thereby taking a saliva sample for testing. That is why the organizers are encouraging everyone who is undecided to register. It does not hurt, it costs nothing, and it can save a human life.
The best example of this is a resident of Legnica, Ms. Katarzyna Jabłońska. She registered with the DKMS Foundation’s database several years ago. Only a year and a half ago was her biological twin found—a seriously ill boy from Germany who was not yet one year old. She donated bone marrow at a clinic in Gliwice. “I felt well after the procedure, and later experienced wonderful moments when I learned that the child had recovered,” the woman recalls.
ego LCK/UM Legnica