The event dedicated to the celebration of World Marrow Donor Day, which is marked on the third Saturday of September, took place at the VTB Arena before the match of the 8th round of the Russian Championship Dynamo — Akhmat
Arseny Litvinov, together with his parents and sister, came to Moscow from the city of Livny in the Oryol region to meet the person who gave him a second chance at life. In 2019, the boy was diagnosed with leukemia. The first transplant was performed in 2021 from his father, but the bone marrow cells did not take root, and it was necessary to find a fully compatible unrelated donor as soon as possible. Fortunately, such a person was found in the National Register of Vasya Perevoshchikov Bone Marrow Donors (National RDBM), and the second transplantation in 2022 was successful. Now Arseny feels well, is in the 4th grade and loves football very much.
— We were lucky, the cells took root, and we continue to live our normal lives! Many thanks to our donor for his concern! We really wanted to get acquainted in order to thank him, - shared Arseny's mother Violetta.
Arseny’s genetic twin turned out to be 33-year-old Maxim Isakov from Bryansk. Seeing the stands about bone marrow donation at the blood transfusion station, he did not remain indifferent and joined the National RDBM together with his wife Veronica. He donated cells for the patient in January 2022 in St. Petersburg — from peripheral blood. His recovery was quick
— These 2.5 years I've been waiting with excitement for the moment when I could find out the result of the donation. Like all donors, I didn't know who I was giving cells to. The doctors only said it was a little boy, – Maxim said. – When they told me about the positive result and invited me to a meeting, of course I was very happy: it means we succeeded, and the huge team of specialists who made it possible worked not in vain. It's hard to imagine what anxieties and decisions the recipient's family had to go through, so I'm happy for them and hope that only a joyful and healthy future awaits them ahead!
The meeting was organized with the support of FESCO, the transport and logistics company and partner of Dynamo Academy. And just before the start of the match, Arseny and Maxim took a symbolic kick at the ball to the loud applause of the audience
For many cancer patients and those with hereditary diseases, a transplant of hematopoietic stem cells found in the bone marrow is the only chance for recovery. Not everyone in need has a compatible donor in their family, and the likelihood of finding a suitable unrelated donor is low — 1:10,000.
"Between 5,000 and 10,000 Russians require bone marrow transplants annually, but no more than 2,000 transplants are performed per year, with around 400 from unrelated donors. One of the reasons is the shortage of donors," noted Anna Andryushkina, General Director of the National RDBM. "Our common goal is to create a comprehensive donor database so that we can provide timely assistance to all who face serious illness. I would like to congratulate all donors on the upcoming World Marrow Donor Day! Thank you for being here! For your selflessness, courage, and kindness! And thank you to all partners of Rusfond and the National RDBM, to everyone who helps make bone marrow donation in Russia understandable and possible. We have a cure for cancer, and anyone can save a life one day. Join us!"
Before the match and during the breaks, anyone who did not have any health restrictions could register by taking an oral swab at the information desk of the National RBCM