On 13 December 2023, activists of the Volunteer Centre of Dagestan State Medical University held a lecture on bone marrow donation at Dagestan State University for students of the Faculty of Ecology and Sustainable Development.

The aim of this kind of events is to promote donation and create knowledge about its contribution to saving lives, the main aspects and role of bone marrow in the human body. Donors, volunteers give lectures in different places. It is no secret that bone marrow donation is discouraged and requires more in-depth educational work. Therefore, activists of the department conduct easily constructed lectures to explain to students, even those not connected with medicine, what donation is, why to enter the federal register and who it can help.

“Bone marrow is needed to make new blood cells to replace damaged and dead ones. The entire mass of bone marrow is a multitude of undifferentiated cells, as in an embryo, when young cells are just beginning to divide and take on functions corresponding to certain organs,” the students said.

An honourable donor of the Russian Federation was also present at the event.

The honourable donor shared her experiences and stories with the students. “I wanted to become a donor for a long time, but my parents were against it. I think this is familiar to many people, because they believe that it can affect their own health. Fortunately, I was able to change their minds and prove through my own experience that bone marrow donation will not harm those who have no contraindications. I believe that a donor is not only a person who gave his blood or an organ, it is a real hero who saved someone’s life by giving a part of himself,” the guest said.

Thanks to the lecture the children learned that stem cell donation can help thousands of children and adults with leukaemia, lymphoma or hereditary diseases. Finding the right person and sharing haematopoietic cells means giving these patients a chance to save their lives.