More than 150 UniCamillus students donated their blood to join the donor register. “A great initiative for our academic community,” said the Rector of UniCamillus.
‘Donating’ may not be a commonly used verb but it is a simple and uncomplicated term. Donating is not expecting anything in return, although the reward is being special to someone. Donating is always deeply emotional and everyone gives what they want or what they can. But if we said we could also give hope, or even life, what would that sound like?
Donating hope and life: this was today the common goal of UniCamillus University and the Italian Bone Marrow Donor Association (ADMO). Over the last few days, more than 150 UniCamillus students have decided to join the project and become potential bone marrow donors, offering a chance of survival to those who are fighting a hard battle to stay alive—a victory, not only for the high level of participation, but also for the humanity of these young people who, with a simple gesture, showed immense solidarity towards others.
A life-changing encounter
It all began on 2nd and 3rd December, when UniCamillus hosted representatives from Lazio’s ADMO for an awareness-raising event dedicated to medical and dental students. During the meeting, the association’s representatives explained the importance of bone marrow donation and encouraged a deep sense of responsibility and participation among the students. This was not just an informative experience, but an unforgettable, powerful event that touched the hearts of those present and invited them to do something for others. Many students accepted the invitation, and on 17th December, these same students decided to take the step of giving a blood sample to join the donor register, offering themselves the chance to save lives. A gesture that is not taken for granted, even though it involves no risk other than the possibility of knowing that someone has regained hope for their future.
Why is bone marrow donation so important?
Bone marrow donation is often the only real hope for people with serious blood and immune system diseases such as leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma or bone marrow aplasia. Transplantation regenerates the patient’s haematopoietic system using healthy donor stem cells. However, the genetic compatibility required makes this process extremely complex: only one in 100,000 people is genetically compatible, and only 30% of patients can find a donor within their own family.
This is the moment when ADMO steps in to raise awareness of the importance of expanding the donor register: every new registration can mean another chance to save a life. This is also the moment when the humanity of our students comes into play, when they decide to embark on a journey made up of several successive steps.
Donation is safe, voluntary and anonymous and can take place in three ways: collection of appropriately prepared peripheral blood, which is the most common and least invasive technique; collection from the iliac crest, performed under general or local anaesthesia; and umbilical cord blood donation, a choice available to mothers during childbirth.
On 17th December, the first step was taken: at UniCamillus, an ADMO camper van and a tent welcomed students to take the blood samples necessary for typing—the process that analyses the genetic profile and enters donors into the national register. Thanks to this simple action, many of them became a potential lifeline for people in need, which is essential to bring back joy and hope to many patients and their families.
“These students have not only shown that they are well-prepared future medical practitioners, but above all that they are human beings of extraordinary sensitivity,” says Gianni Profita, Rector of UniCamillus. “Giving a chance to those who are struggling to survive is the noblest thing you can do. I am proud of them: today they have contributed to a wonderful chapter of our academic community and undoubtedly of their lives, too”.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of the information sessions on bone marrow donation at UniCamillus: many of the students responded positively to our request to join the register, and many others asked for information or told us their stories”, says Antonella Brandimarte, Head of ADMO-Lazio. “It is very important for ADMO to reach out directly to people who represent our future, at the right age when they can become aware of the problem and do something for others. We would also like to thank the tutors who have promoted the initiative, showing great attention to the issue of donation and setting a good example for their students”.
UniCamillus and ADMO: doubling solidarity
Founded in Milan in 1990, ADMO is passionately committed to raising awareness of the value of bone marrow donation: through meetings and campaigns, the association works to increase the number of registrations and give hope to those fighting serious illnesses. UniCamillus University could not ignore the appeal, being an Institution with a strong humanitarian mission at its heart.
UniCamillus and ADMO are two branches of the same tree: they grow in different directions, but both stem from the same root: the desire to save lives. As ADMO raises awareness and helps find compatible donors, UniCamillus trains healthcare professionals who may one day be directly involved in performing these life-saving transplants. Together, they are helping to build a system where knowledge, altruism and caring for others come together to make the world a better place.
The collaboration between UniCamillus University and ADMO shows how raising awareness can lead to concrete action: thanks to the altruistic gestures of our students, more lives can be saved. As ADMO’s slogan reminds us: ‘Donating to a family member is a duty. Donating to a stranger is an act of pure love’.
And for that ‘act of pure love’, we can only thank our students from the bottom of our hearts for accepting, for being so extraordinary, for ‘donating’ to us (indeed!) proof of how we can really make a difference.
