Open letter from the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) to condemn the war in Eastern Europe and to ensure that health services can continue to provide care to all patients in need of a transplant
Our community believes in collaboration, integration and democracy. Through acts of aggression, we see these values being threatened and eroded. WMDA calls on all stakeholders to strongly condemn the violence, bombing, killings, and disruption to essential services resulting from this conflict.
WMDA asks that all parties respect international humanitarian law by ensuring swift and safe delivery of cellular products to all patients who need a transplant and to ensure access to care and medicinal products for patients needing complex transplant treatments, such as those with blood cancer.
We stand for our colleagues, friends, families, donors and patients impacted by this tragedy and we continue to support our members during this difficult time.
Joint Statement on behalf of American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, EBMT and WBMT
The American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT), European Society for Blood Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), and Worldwide Network for Blood Marrow Transplantation (WBMT) firmly condemns the war started by Russian military forces in Ukraine. In particular, ASTCT, EBMT, and WBMT request that peace negotiations prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable Ukrainian people. Casualties among innocent civilians increase by the minute, including children. Patients with severe conditions, such as those with cancer or undergoing life-saving transplants, are currently affected by lack of medications and medical supplies, limited ability to travel to hospitals, lack of adequate nutrition. Healthcare providers and hospital staff in Kyiv remain in their hospitals to treat the patients in shelters, while bombs continue to hit the city.
ASTCT, EBMT, and WBMT joins the international community and requests that:
a) safe corridors can be established for patients and providers to travel to the hospital;
b) international organizations can be allowed to ship medical supplies;
c) patients whose care cannot be completed in Ukraine at this time may be allowed to travel to foreign countries offering to host them.
ASTCT, EBMT, and WBMT expresses its solidarity to all the Ukrainian healthcare providers, friends and supporters worldwide, and hopes all the states currently engaged in wars will agree on the value of dialogue and peace that should not have borders.
WHO Update
- WHO Office on Ukraine has set up the Incident Management Team and is providing support to the country’s Ministry of Health and leading the international Health Cluster’s work for humanitarian emergencies. See the statement of the Head of WHO Country Office Dr Jarno HABICHT: https://www.facebook.com/WHOEurope/videos/489433626097431
- Radiation and Health Unit at the WHO Headquarters is providing technical support on matters related to radiation safety.
The statement of WHO DG on Ukraine crisis can be read here: https://www.who.int/news/item/24-02-2022-who-director-general-deeply-concerned-over-escalating-health-crisis-in-ukraine
The statement of IAEA DG : https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/iaea-director-general-statement-on-the-situation-in-ukraine
How you can help
- Here is the link for donating to UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/conflict-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children
- Here is the link for donating to Red Cross Ukraine: https://www.icrc.org/en/donate/ukraine
Update Ukrainian Bone Marrow Registry
Dear Lydia, we want to ask about an open letter from WMDA. We don't see words here such as Russia. What stakeholders do you mean in this open letter - there is only one stakeholder -the russian government with putin which can stop the war in Ukraine! We compare the silence of people, especially russians, and russian bone marrow registries with the support for the putin regime. Who can stop their crazy dictatorial president instead of people who have elected him. Nevertheless, they are silent. What difficulties do we have? - We have a war. russians have come to our homeland to kill us, destroy our infrastructure, shoot at emergency, kinder-gardens, and of course schools - Doctors are conducting family transplants under the explosion of russian bombs outside the window. They heroically risk their own lives. - We can't deliver cells for unrelated transplantation to patients for well-known reasons, although we have bomb shelters and basements that have become housing for Ukrainians - Patients become hostages to the situation and their situation is particularly difficult and alarming - Our problem is crazy putin with a rusiian government and his military forces who made the invasion to the foreign land, to the Independent Country. - Our problem is when people say we are not in politics. Sorry, this is not about politics at all. There is a murderer - russia - who kills peaceful people, who kills us, Ukrainians. And there are neighbors who are watching but still remain silent. Nazism is born in silence. We don't understand how in the 21st century you can come to someone's house and kill people. But even more we do not understand how you can see it and be silent.
How can russian bone marrow donor registries name themselves a live-saving organisation after that? We have more than 2000 civilian deaths today - adults and children, is it not enough to break a silence?
Thank you. Hope for understanding.
From Ukraine, Roman and Julia Kuts- Not possible to provide hematopoietic stem cells from volunteer donors for patients in need of a transplant
- The 8 bone marrow transplants from unrelated donors, which have been planned to be performed in March, are in the process of being moved to another country (Poland)
- The Ukrainian Bone Marrow Registry started with unrelated transplantation in 2020:
- 2020: 4 transplants
- 2021: 16 transplants
- 2022: 8 transplants (January/February)
- It will be great if you could provide financial support to the Ukrainian Registry to help them through the financial crisis.
Update Karelian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
- In case the internet access will disappear, you can search on: http://bmdonego.ru/#search.
Update Kirov Research Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (KRIHBT)
- Diseases that require bone marrow transplantation do not know borders and nationalities.
- We continue to work as usual and process all requests in a timely manner. Our donors continue to be available to patients all over the world.
Just like during the pandemic COVID-19, we can use Istanbul as a hub for transporting cell products.
National Bone Marrow Donors Registry named after Vasya Perevoshchikov
The world is changing, it is true. We will be do everything for the patients. We hope work with you and the community for all patients in the world. I hope the delivery way through Istanbul will be available. And China will do flights through the world. And all patients in the world who need the transplant will receive it.