On Thursday 15 December 2022, the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Mr Nikolaos Hardalias and the President of the National Transplant Organisation Executive Board Mr Georgios Papatheodoridis signed a Cooperation Memorandum between the Ministry of National Defence and the Organisation, in a ceremony that took place at the “IOANNIS KAPODISTRIAS” hall, at the Ministry of National Defence.
The event was attended by the Deputy Chief of HNDGS Vice Admiral Ioannis Drymousis HN, the Director of the HNDGS Medical Directorate Major General (MED) Dimitrios Chatzigeorgiou, Directors and Staff Officers of the competent Directorates of the Army, Navy and Air Force General Staffs, whereas on behalf of the Organisation, the Section Chief of the Directorate Mr Stavros Kepentzis and the Head of the Cell Transplant Section Mr Anastasios Manolis. Also present were the scientific Director and member of the Executive Board of the “ORAMA ELPIDAS (VISION FOR HOPE)” Association Mr Stylianos Grafakos, as representative of the Centre to Advance Public Awareness and Recruitment of Bone Marrow Donor Volunteers of the Patras University – “Save a Life” Ms Maria Kostoglou and the President of “WinCancer-WeCan” Ms Pisti Krystallidou.
With the signed Memorandum, the two Parties proceed, through the implementation of targeted actions, to a cooperation with an intense social imprint for the information and sensitisation of the Armed Forces personnel, regarding the search, receipt and transport of transplant of hematopoietic progenitor cells, the treatment of patients with serious hematologic diseases, as well as the support of the work of the National Transplant Organisation, but also pursuing the recruitment/increase of the number of bone marrow volunteer donors.
The Cooperation Memorandum, which becomes effective as of today, with its signing by the representatives of the two Parties, is valid for two years.
The Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Hardalias, upon the signing of the Memorandum, gave the following address:
“The signing of this memorandum, between the Ministry of National Defence and the National Transplant Organisation, confirms our common wish to proceed to a beneficial cooperation with an intense social imprint, aiming at the information and sensitisation of the Armed Forces personnel, regarding the search, receipt and transport of transplant of hematopoietic progenitor cells, for the treatment of patients with serious hematologic diseases and finally the increase of the number of bone marrow volunteer donors.
It is an undisputable fact that the National Transplant Organisation, from its establishment until today, provides continuously valuable services, contributing decisively in the support of the transplant work of the Ministry of Health, regarding the mapping out and implementation of the national policy in the field of donation and transplant of organs, tissues and cells.
In this everlasting contribution of the Organisation, the Armed Forces members, through their high ideal of social solidarity and contribution, wish to be sympathetic as a valuable aid and supporter, being dynamically present to the benefit of the social interest in the crucial field of health.
I would like to assure you that their contribution will be another “small” but characteristic sample of their continuous offer in every crucial field for the maintenance of the social coherence, an offer that makes the Armed Forces acknowledged by all, further reinforcing the unbroken relation of trust that they have developed, through time, with the Greek citizens.
The Ministry of National Defence strongly supports the work of the National Transplant Organisation in its effort to increase the number of bone marrow volunteer donors and through the signing of this memorandum hopes to vitally contribute in the promotion and securing of the most valuable commodity, the commodity of life itself”.
