PSV spokesperson who recruited thousands of stem cell donors dies at age 46

PSV spokesperson Thijs Slegers passed away at the age of 46, the Eindhoven football club announced on Monday. Slegers recruited thousands of stem cell donors for the blood bank after he found out that he was terminally ill.

Slegers was diagnosed with acute leukemia in October 2020. He underwent a stem cell transplant and initially recovered, but in February, he found out that he had an incurable rejection disease.

The PSV spokesperson decided to dedicate some of his remaining time to recruiting more stem cell donors. “I can no longer be helped, but others can,” he said in the ESPN program Bloedverwanten voor Thijs. PSV also dedicated its stadium screens to the call.

Thousands of people registered as stem cell donors as a result.