Save a man, but miss the top match. Leipzig defender is a stem cell donor

But he will be ready for the Champions League.

Leipzig vice-captain and key defender Willy Orban may miss the next round of the German championship. He has not been training with the team since the end of last week.

Because of the special display of charity.

Orban will donate stem cells. There’s a man it can save

Back in 2017, Willy Orban registered in the bone marrow donor registry – just when Leipzig launched the corresponding campaign. Orban recently learned that a patient with blood cancer needs his help.

Leipzig itself said that on February 8 in Dresden, the football player will become a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donor. This procedure helps patients in 90% of cases (in another 10%, bone marrow is required).

To increase the number of stem cells, Orban has been doing special injections since Saturday. From Sunday he worked at the club on an individual program.

“Of course, at first I was surprised when I received a notification that I could become a donor,” Orban admitted. – And I wanted to participate as soon as possible. I have a chance to save another person’s life with very little effort. I really hope that I can help him fully recover. Perhaps I will miss the match against Union, but football is secondary in this case. I hope this will inspire more people to become donors.”

Educational program: what are stem cells and how do they work?

In simple words about the medical side.

Stem cells are the cells from which all blood cells in the body are formed. In a donation, they are taken from one person and transplanted into a patient who needs treatment. Further, in the patient, due to this, new blood cells mature, which will replace the cancerous ones.

Before the donation procedure, it is recommended to eat foods high in calcium (because the donor’s level may drop during the procedure) and drink plenty of water. A cell harvesting session lasts approximately four to five hours.

The procedure is available on the Memorial Sloan Kettering website. The donor is connected to the device using a dropper or catheter. Blood passes through the machine, where stem cells are separated from it. During this procedure, you can use the phone, read, watch TV.

After that, the donor wears bandages at the injection sites for several hours. In most cases, you can return to your daily activities after the procedure. But when to return to physical activity is a question for doctors, all cases are individual.

The body will replace the harvested stem cells within two to three months.

Orban risks missing the top match – against Union from 2nd place

And the player is important for the team, and the match for the season too:

• Orban is fourth in Leipzig’s history in appearances. He has been playing for the club since 2015, this season – all 19 matches without substitutions.

• RB Leipzig are fourth in the Bundesliga against Union on 11 February, the sensation of the season from second place. The difference between them is three points. From the leading Bayern – four.

SoWillie can miss a really top match: not by the sign, but by the status and the table.

By the way, there was a similar example in Germany recently: Karlsruhe defender Marcel Franke missed the October match with Darmstadt in the Bundesliga-2 for the same reason. He successfully became a donor, before that he played on October 7, and returned on the 19th, and withstood 120 minutes of the cup game.

It is even more important for Willy Orban than for Union to return to the field on February 22 – Leipzig will host Manchester City in the 1/8 finals of the Champions League. By this time, he will probably be allowed to play.