RU 
EN 
CN 
ES 
Students of Samara University learned about the amazing fate of Artyom Aliskerov, who underwent 31 courses of chemotherapy in 2019–2021, defeated acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and two weeks after his discharge went to storm Elbrus. And he reached the top. And he couldn't stop, he fulfilled his childhood dream, ran almost all of Russia from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad, breaking the world record in marathon running four times.
"You can't even imagine what reserves your body has, and you just have to allow yourself to dream. And if you've done the impossible once, you'll do it again, because you already have step-by-step instructions for success," the young man says with confidence.
The athlete, and in fact the living banner of the big idea, talked about how he ran 670 kilometers on the ice of Lake Baikal in 16 days. About how he dreamed of visiting the Cape of Good Hope, and one day, when he agreed to participate in the expedition, it turned out that they would go to South Africa! And Artyom ran along the cape while accompanied by penguins.
The meeting was held as part of the All-Russian relay race "Fire of Life", which was hosted by Samara. Artyom Aliskerov is currently an ambassador for bone marrow donation, and he dedicates his races to this topic. And he invites them to join him and the Federal Register of Bone Marrow Donors, telling students stories about people who survived thanks to donors and those who were not saved.
"I'm telling you about responsibility today: when you get a call saying you're needed, you have to understand that the person on the other side of the phone has only a few days left," Artyom addressed the students.
Kristina Poshva, regional coordinator of the Medical Volunteers donation promotion sector, spoke about the myths of bone marrow donation and her personal life-saving experience. "I became a donor in 2017, when my friend was injured in the St. Petersburg subway during a terrorist attack. In 2021, I joined the federal register of bone marrow donors at a volunteer forum. And already in 2023, my cells saved the life of a woman, a resident of St. Petersburg!" said Kristina.
The students learned about how rare this opportunity is from statistics. It turns out that out of 2,500 donors from Samara, only eight volunteers received a call and became superheroes. And each of them is ready to save again and again!
The meeting ended with the announcement of the Donor Days at Samara University, which will be held in mid-May. Nikita Kuznetsov, the head of the blood donation volunteer club, spoke about the club's activities and conducted a small quiz for students on "Donors' Contribution to the Great Victory." So, it turns out that up to 50 liters of blood were donated per day in Kuibyshev for soldiers lying in hospitals in the city.
Elena Kudinova, Deputy Director for Medical Affairs of the Samara Region Blood Service, presented a letter of acknowledgement to Tatiana Morozova, Director of the Center for Student Health Promotion at Samara University, from the Federal Medical and Biological Agency for the development of the donor movement at the University. The letter of acknowledgement was signed by the head of the agency Veronika Skvortsova.
Photo by Olesya Orina
