Europdonor Foundation is the Dutch stem cell donor registry. The anonymous data of the stem cell donors are made available for transplant centres all over the world. Stem cell donors have volunteered to be 'tissue typed' or HLA typed. The HLA type is the most important factor that determines whether a donor is suitable to donate stem cells to a patient. For patients all over the world transplant centres are searching for donors whose HLA type is a close match for patients with malfunctioning bone marrow. A stem cell transplantation from one of these donors could be life-saving.

Europdonor co-operates with the Dutch blood bank to recruit donors. This means that most Dutch stem cell donors are blood donors. There are now over 38,000 stem cell donors and 3,650 cord blood units in our registry. Worldwide there are now more than 14 million stem cell donors registered.

With the word stem cells we mean hematopoietic stem cells. These cells are usually located in the bone marrow and continuously form new blood cells.

Dear Ms. Oudshoorn,

Further to our phone call of this afternoon I can inform you of the following.

The activities Stichting Europdonor performs with and pertaining to human tissue and cells fall outside the scope of de Dutch Human Tissue and Cells Act (DHTCA; Wet veiligheid en kwaliteit lichaamsmateriaal). That means you are allowed to perform these activities and that you are not required to have a DHTCA recognition of the Dutch Minister for Health, Welfare and Sport to do so.

I hope this clarifies matters. Should you have any remaining questions, please don't hesitate to ask them.

Kind regards,
 
René van Wissen

Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport
CIBG
Farmatec-BMC
Senior Jurist
P.O. Box 16114
2500 BC  The Hague