Project BluStar.NRW is looking for blood and stem cell donors for people with a migration background

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 Especially for people with a migrant background it is often difficult to find a suitable donor, as certain tissue compatibility characteristics of the donor and the recipient must match to enable a successful transplantation (see also "Blutspenden von Migranten gesucht", Deutschlandfunk, 11.07.18). The traits are genetically determined and therefore differ between people from Central Europe and people from e.g. Syria or African countries. In the donor files, donors from the latter countries are still underrepresented. This is exactly where the project BluStar.NRW starts.

In addition, the project will develop scientific data and technical innovations for blood tests.

The project, which receives more than three million euros for three years as part of the Leitmarktwettbewerb LifeSciences.NRW, is headed by Prof. Peter Horn, Director of the Institute for Transfusion Medicine at the University Hospital Essen. Furthermore, the Institute for Transplantation Diagnostics and Cell Therapeutics at the University Hospital Düsseldorf is involved, which, like the Essen Institute, is also a member of the Stem Cell Network NRW. Other partners are the DRK Blood Donor Service West, the West German Donor Center (WSZE) and the Caritas Association for the City of Essen