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The bank of stem cell donors, established by "Elpida" association of friends of children with cancer, has registered 1,100 volunteers within just one month. The aim of the foundation is to register 100,000 potential donors in the coming years in order to increase the chances of finding a suitable graft for the patients, not only in Greece but also abroad. Globally, 23 million people are registered as volunteers to donate stem cells. Greece is at the bottom of the ranking with less than 30,000 volunteers.

The Greek Ministry of Health has decided to support the efforts of the foundation and at a special event, Minister Adonis Georgiadis and employees of the Ministry have been included on the lists of volunteer stem cell donors.

"This excellent initiative fills a real gap, which our country cannot be proud of," said Georgiadis, commenting on the low number of volunteers. "If we explain to people how important and easy the procedure is for each of us, I think that, in a very short time, we will be able to submit thousands of signatures to the bank and save many lives in the coming years," he added. The Minister said he would urge his colleagues in the government to support the initiative and conduct an information campaign at the same time.
  
In Greece, the only hospital for stem cell transplantation for children is the "Mariana Vardinogianni-Elpida" Children's Cancer Hospital . Each year it performs approximately 60 stem cell transplants for children. If we add to them the transplants for older children, the total number of life-saving operations will reach 180 to 200 per year.

Learn more about the "Mariana Vardinogianni-Elpida" Children's Cancer Hospital that avails state-of-the-art equipment in this GRReporter film.

According to director of the "Agia Sofia" State Children's Hospital  Emmanuel Papasavas, only 30% of patients find a suitable graft among family members. The rest of them turn to the international bank of stem cell donors but the procedure takes longer and the patients often do not have this time. In addition, the price is very high. A graft found in a European country costs 15,000 euro and if found in the U.S. its price amounts to 30,000 euro. Papasavas states that the establishment of the bank of donors by "Elpida" company will decrease in the coming years the percentage of those seeking a suitable donor from donor banks abroad.

 
Paediatrician, haematologist and scientific director of the bank of stem cell donors Stelios Grafakos explains that the procedure of stem cell donation is very simple. In the majority of cases, it is similar to the blood donation procedure and it is painless and safe. On average, it takes a volunteer about two and a half hours to provide stem cells to save someone's life.