The 1000th and 1001st transplants of National Bone Marrow Bank (TÜRKÖK) were carried out in Ankara Gülhane Training and Research Hospital. Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca presented flowers and plaque to the donors. The 1000th and 1001st transplants of TÜRKÖK project were carried out in Ankara Gülhane Training and Research Hospital. The two donors of stem cells are 52-year old Abdullah Tanrıverdi and 27-year old Ceylan Şener. Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca received the two donors and presented flowers and plaque to them. Head Physician of Gülhane Training and Research Hospital Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali Gülçelik, Hematology Specialist Prof. Dr. Meltem Aylı and Specialist Doctor Gökhan Özgür accompanied the donors, and they were awarded with certificates of appreciation by the Health Minister. Underlining that the TÜRKÖK project brings together the patients waiting for bone marrow and donors, Dr. Koca has also added that: “Bone marrow and stem cell are very important for treatment of lymphoma, leukemia, bone marrow failure and even metabolic diseases. As the number of the donors increases, the chance of patients for treatment increases accordingly. Therefore, we wish to increase the number of voluntary donations. We are the 4th of Europe in bone marrow transplantation, we are successful in this area. Donation of bone marrow is performed through three small blood tubes, which poses no threat for the health of the donor. We invite all our citizens to donate bone marrow and stem cell as we believe that saving life of a person means saving life of the humanity.” What is TÜRKÖK? National Bone Marrow Bank (TÜRKÖK) was established on 1 April 2015 to find the most suitable donor candidates for the patients in need of bone marrow, and ensure coordination with the third parties before, during and after bone marrow transplant. It became a member of BMDW (Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide) in 2016 and WMDA (The World Marrow Donor Association) in 2017. It provided bone marrow transplantation for 28 patients in 2015, 194 patients in 2016, 318 patients in 2017 and 461 patients in 2018 - 1001 patients in total. There are 372 thousands voluntary donors registered in TÜRKÖK. It is currently possible to find suitable donor for 2/3 patients having applied to TÜRKÖK. It is targeted to increase the number of voluntary donors to 500 by the end of 2019.
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