Karlsruher SC will have to do without defender Marcel Franke next weekend against Darmstadt 98. This has an unusual but noble reason.

Last summer, Marcel Franke moved from Hannover 96 to Karlsruher SC. The 29-year-old centre-back will be absent this weekend for the home game against SV Darmstadt 98 – for an honourable, but quite unusual reason.

The defender has to miss because he is donating stem cells on Thursday, with the prospect of saving a life. “Three months ago I got a call that I was on the shortlist for a potential stem cell donation,” said Franke, who had registered and typed with the DKMS (German Bone Marrow Donor Centre) during his time at SpVgg Greuther Fürth (2015 to 2017): “The probability was actually very low that I would be the right donor. But three weeks later I got the call that I was a perfect match after all.”

Franke then sought talks with sporting director Oliver Kreuzer and the coaching team around head coach Christian Eichner. “It was clear to all of us that we would definitely do it. It’s a good feeling to hopefully be able to save someone’s life,” said Franke: “So of course I’ll give up a game sometimes.”

The defender has been training in doses since Monday, and the donation is due to take place on Thursday. “But I would like to return to training at the beginning of next week,” said Franke.

Before a stem cell donation, the donor must inject himself for several days with a drug that stimulates stem cell production. Since, among other things, this causes the spleen to enlarge for a certain period of time, there is a risk of rupture of the spleen during contact sports. A few days after the donation and the resulting discontinuation of the medication, the spleen of the donor returns to normal.