Jana Teubner says:
“My sister tried for a long time to persuade me to register as a stem cell donor. But I was extremely afraid of the iliac crest removal because of the general anesthesia and the pain. I had a nose job that really hurt.
This went on for years until she sent me a video of a boy with leukemia. It shocked me so much that I spontaneously requested a registration set. ‘Most people never have to donate anyway,’ I reassured myself. The letter with the cotton swab came. Then I lost my courage. It was only months later, after another report about a child, that I brought myself to have a smear test.
Three weeks later, the phone rang in my hairdressing salon: ‘Mrs Teubner, you are a candidate for donation,’ said the caller. I felt really sick, my whole body was shaking. My customer immediately noticed that something was wrong. I told her everything in tears. ‘But that’s great!’ she said. Surely the sick person would also be called – wouldn’t that feel like Easter, Christmas and a birthday for them?
This change of perspective and the support from my sister encouraged me. I was really relieved when it became clear: I don’t have to donate from the iliac crest – and by the way, that’s only rarely necessary. For me, a kind of blood wash was enough. As I lay on the lounger and donated, I was treated like a heroine. I didn’t feel that way, but I was satisfied and proud to have overcome my fear for a good cause.”
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