Seventy-six volunteer marrow donors of of bones – 11 of which are Turkish Cypriots – were honored during the ceremony “Bone Marrow Donors of the Year 2021-2022”, which was organized by the Karaiskaki Foundation at the Presidential Palace, on Tuesday evening, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Nikos Anastasiadis.
A total of 76 volunteer donors (58 present and 18 absent from the ceremony) who donated bone marrow last year were honored at the event. This number includes 11 Turkish Cypriots (five present and 6 absent from the ceremony). Dr. Frederiki Melanthiou, former Director of the Hematology Clinic at the Nicosia General Hospital, Dr. Kyprianos Louis, Director of Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education, and the Paphos Bio-Analysis Clinical Laboratory were also honored for their collaboration/offer.
In addition, 10 samplers were honored for their volunteer work, as well as 5 schools for registering the highest number of donors per province. These are Forum Private School in Nicosia, Laniteo High School in Limassol, Lefkaron High School, Ethnarchi Makariou III High School in Paphos and Kokkinohorion Fotis Pitta High School.
It should be noted that volunteer Andri Prodromou and Pantelis and Christina Kallenou, parents of little Lambros Kallenou, who recently passed away.
Marrow donor Antis Panagiotou and Eleni also spoke at the event Kalligaki, mother of little Andreas Panagis who received a transplant.
In her greeting, the President of the Board of Directors of the Karaiskakei Foundation (KI), Dr. Popi Kanari, expressed “the deepest appreciation of the entire family of the KI” for the support of President Anastasiades and his presence at the event, “which shields the implementation of vision of the Foundation”. He added that the President of the Republic sealed this support, announcing a few days ago that the Government will institutionalize the support of KI through the State budgets.
Ms. Kanari noted that 50,000 patients worldwide search for a compatible donor annually and 50% of them find a donor from other countries. “This in itself gives us more responsibility, but also makes us proud as we continue to have the largest per capita bone marrow donor record worldwide with over 200,000 volunteer donors and having given transplants to 690 patients from 35 countries,” he pointed out.< /p>
Furthermore, the President of the KI thanked the voluntary donors, who amount to 200,000, “because they complete with Cypriot pride the mosaic of global solidarity and mutual respect”. He also mentioned that the operation of the Foundation's File started in 1999, initially with 18,000 voluntary donors and in 2000 the connection was made with the World Bank of Bone Marrow Donors. “Within a few years of its operation, KI managed to have the world's first place and we continue to have it”, he underlined.
In addition, Mrs. Kanari indicated that “the rich history of our island and the frequent population movements in the Mediterranean countries left a great genetic heterogeneity in the Cypriot people, thus making it difficult to identify an unrelated donor”. In addition, he said that the constant low birth rate on our island reduces even more the possibility of young patients to find a compatible donor. The President of Karaiskakei thanked the Ministry of Education, the Police and the National Guard, the scouts and all the volunteer groups that contribute to the recruitment of new donors and to maintaining the Foundation's global leadership as a Donor Registry.
Referring to the course of the Karaiskakei Foundation, Mrs. Kanari noted that it “evolved into an internationally recognized and noteworthy Diagnostic and Research Center for Hematology-Oncology, Children's Cancer and in recent years it has been scientifically investing in genetics for rare hereditary diseases that are also related to cancer in children. ».
“We are called today, more than ever before, to meet the new challenges for progress in the field of diagnosis and treatment of cancer and rare hereditary diseases,” he pointed out. “Progress is not entirely guaranteed. But it is as strong as our will to work based on our many years of experience and our knowledge with dedication and passion”, he concluded.
For his part, the General Secretary of Karaiskakeio, Giorgos Penindaex, who presented the event, said that the Karaiskakeio Foundation “is the first practical and successful measure of rapprochement, or if you like, the first ever Trust Building Measure, between the two communities . It is a common bank of love, humanity and selfless giving, a savings bank of life's hope, for our suffering fellow human beings”. they praise the Cypriot people”, he added.
The days when we counted our inability to offer hope to our fellow human beings who needed a bone marrow transplant quickly passed irretrievably, thanks to the generosity of the Cypriot people, Mr. Penindaex emphasized , who presenting the program made a special mention of little Andreas Karaiskakis, who passed away. His parents, however, through their unbearable pain, found the courage to think of other children who are suffering and donated all the money they collected for their child's treatment to the creation of the Karaiskakeios Foundation.
The evening's artistic program was undertaken by the soprano Aliki Chrysochou, who performed songs alone and together with children from the Future Academy of Arts.
