With the recent changes to the protocol of the Türkiye Stem Cell Coordination Center (TÜRKÖK), carried out in collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), Kızılay will now also manage logistics support services related to donor recruitment, matching processes, health checks and the transplantation process.
The protocol was recently amended to increase the number of stem cell donors, expand the capacity of services provided by Kızılay in this field and ensure more effective services for both patients and donors.
Under the new protocol, Kızılay will provide logistics support for health checks and transplantation, in addition to donor recruitment, matching, and transplant planning processes, thereby contributing to Türkiye's stem cell transplantation capacity.
Speaking about the regulation, Kızılay President Fatma Meriç Yılmaz emphasized that each stem cell donation opens a door of hope for a patient.
Yılmaz stated that the work carried out by Kızılay under TÜRKÖK over the years has strategically contributed to speeding up the matching and transplantation processes by strengthening the national donor pool. She provided the following details regarding the new regulation.
“Through our expanded collaboration with the Ministry of Health, we meticulously manage the entire process, from donor health checks to logistical support, from accommodation and transportation to the rapid and safe delivery of collected cellular products to transplantation centers," she added.
Yılmaz also continued, "The most valuable outcome of this holistic approach is that it allows more of our citizens to become a source of healing for another person. Today, our most important call is to our voluntary donors. We will continue to work tirelessly and with determination to ensure that more volunteers join this circle of goodwill.”
TÜRKÖK, established in 2014 by the Ministry of Health and Kızılay, aims to identify the most suitable donors for patients in need of stem cell transplants, particularly those with leukemia and lymphoma and has helped hundreds of patients extend their lives.
Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 19, Kızılay transported 580 cellular products and conducted 989 health checks.
Since 2014, the number of active stem cell donor candidates registered in the TÜRKÖK system has reached 1,186,247. To date, 30,684 matches have been made and 7,424 transplants have been carried out.
