Analytik Jena Supports Blood Cancer Donor Drive

Analytik Jena AG is supporting DKMS, the German bone marrow donation organisation, by calling on its employees in Germany to fight against blood cancer by having themselves tested and registered as potential stem-cell contributors. A major drive undertaken at the company’s Jena headquarters, where employees had their cheeks swabbed by medical personnel is being followed by similar initiatives at other company sites in Germany.

Speaking at the time of the call for donations on the Jena site, CEO Klaus Berka said: “I am glad that we were able to mobilise Analytik Jena employees today even if this type of personal decision is surely not easy. This issue means a lot to us. Many people get blood cancer, including many young people and children and for a large number stem-cell donations provide the only chance to recover. And we want to help.” He added that “at Analytik Jena, we also support this battle by taking on the costs of all the tests carried out among our staff.”

With over 5.2 million registered potential stem-cell contributors, DKMS is the world’s largest organization of the type, bringing together patients, stem-cell contributors, supporters, and employees in the fight against blood cancer. The blood samples of all new registrees at DKMS Life Science Lab GmbH since 2014 have also been tested for Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a very widespread herpes virus. Between 30 and 90 percent of people around the world are CMV-positive. While this infection is mostly fully harmless for otherwise healthy people, it can have life-threatening consequences for the immunocompromised.

“The system used to automatically detect CMV in plasma comes from our CyBio product line. This makes it possible to choose only those contributors whose CMV status matches the patients, from the very beginning,” Mr Berka added.