Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), DKMS Donor Center gGmbH (DKMS) and Stiftung Aktion Knochenmarkspende Bayern (AKB) are continuing their successful initiative for stem cell donations. Register during our donor drives, or support them with a cash donation.
Together against leukemia
Many leukemia patients fail to find a suitable donor in their family. Their only hope is to find a suitable unrelated donor with the same tissue characteristics. The more people are registered in the databases, the higher the chance of a successful match and a potential cure.
The Executive Board would therefore like to invite all administrative staff and colleagues from the faculties and local companies to register in the DKMS database as part of the #FrankenFuerDasLeben campaign.
Register now and become a potential stem cell donor!
Register at the donor drive, be included in the database and prepare to be contacted in the case of a match.
Under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Andreas Mackensen, Director of Hematology and Oncology at Uniklinikum Erlangen, FAU hopes to find as many new stem cell donors as possible and to raise awareness of the importance of typing. Donor drives are held regularly at various locations across FAU.
What happens during a donor drive?
During a donor drive, volunteers can register as potential stem cell donors.
First of all, you have to complete a consent form. Next, a swab is used to take a sample from inside your cheek. This sample is sent to the laboratory to analyze HLA markers. For a stem cell donation, people are required to have matching HLA (human leukocyte antigen) markers. As there are several thousand varieties of these markers in innumerable combinations, the likelihood of finding a “genetic twin” is extremely slim. Each registration therefore helps to find the “needle in a haystack” and gives people across the globe hope.
Detailed information at www.dkms.de/informieren and in an Interview with Bettina Steinbauer, responsible for finding new donors at DKMS (PDF)
Dates
Several DKMS registration drives are planned across FAU for 2026.
The specific dates will be published here.
Cash donations
As well as registering as a stem cell donor, it is also possible to make a cash donation directly at the donor drives. Each new registration costs 50 euros and every donation helps, as not everyone can bear the costs themselves.
Inspired by student engagement
The partnership agreement states that all new students at FAU should be informed about the campaigns #FrankenfuerdasLeben and #BayerngegenLeukämie at the beginning of the semester. That apart, the parties to the contract have agreed to jointly plan and conduct registration drives at locations across FAU to gain new potential stem cell donors. The two FAU students Lara Ebbinghaus and Michael Ruppert from the student coordination team have been involved in the processes since 2025: “Our aim is to raise visibility of stem cell donation at FAU over the long term and to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get involved. At the end of the day, every single registration has the potential to save a life, and the collaboration between FAU; the students, AKB Bayern and the DKMS creates a strong basis.” A number of drives have already been planned for 2026. They will be announced in good time via FAU’s channels.
Further information: www.dkms.de/aktiv-werden/kampagnen-aktivitaeten/frankenfuerdasleben