Meeting of a lifetime: donor and recipient saw each other for the first time two years after bone marrow transplantation

On April 14, as part of the 5-year anniversary of the Pirogov University Bone Marrow Donor Registry, a milestone event took place - a meeting between donor Ksenia Duzhina and patient Maxim Knyazkov, whose life she saved by donating hematopoietic stem cells. For Maxim, this operation was a chance to recover from a serious illness — acute leukemia, and for Ksenia it was an important step that inspired her to develop the donor movement in Russia. Today, Ksenia holds the position of Deputy Head of the Bone Marrow Donor Registry at Pirogov University.

“I knew it was safe, that it had been done a long time ago. Five hours of procedure is nothing compared to the fact that you helped save someone's life,”Ksenia shares.

As part of the event, gratitude was awarded to laboratories, clinics and foundations that help develop bone marrow donation in Russia. The ceremony was opened by Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, who emphasized the importance of the Registry's work in saving lives.

Any healthy person from 18 to 45 years of age can become a donor by donating a single tube of blood for typing in laboratories and clinics of Pirogov University partners.

Photos from the event can be found in the album.

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