3 hours ago
4 
Scrolling through my inbox, I paused when I saw the email from the NHS Blood and Transplant team.
‘You may remember that in the past when you donated blood you also volunteered to be a potential bone marrow or blood stem cell donor,’ it started, and I held my breath in anticipation.
The message continued: ‘We have now found you are a potential match for a patient.’
An excited ‘oh my god!’ left my lips and I started shaking.
Seventeen years earlier I’d registered to become a donor, and while I’d always hoped that I could help someone someday, I couldn’t quite believe that it was finally happening.
Becoming a stem cell donor wasn’t exactly something I’d dreamed of being as a kid, but I’d always been open to the idea.
I remember, when I was in my early 20s, I went to donate blood just because (and I would encourage others to do the same as the NHS has called for an extra 1,000,000 donors).
Where can I dontate blood?
There are 25 permanent NHS donation centres in major towns and cities. These centres are often open at evenings and weekends and have more appointments available than sessions in other venues.
Permanent donor centres are highlighted when you search for an appointment online or using the NHS Give Blood app.
There are also mobile donation sessions from church halls and other community venues.
The NHS appointment system
balances the supply of blood with the changing demand from patients.
You can book an appointment to give blood as soon as you sign up as a blood donor. However, the next convenient appointment might not be straightaway.
This could be because the NHS already has a good supply of your blood type.
People need blood all year round, so all donations will still save lives, even if your appointment is in a few months’ time.
Things that affect when you’ll get an appointment
There are 8 main blood types but hospitals need different amounts of each type.
Blood also has a limited shelf life so we avoid waste by only collecting the amount we need
To make sure we collect the right amount of each type, there are different numbers of appointments for different blood donors.
Things that affect when you’ll get an appointment include:
Your blood type
There are more appointments for donors with blood types that people often need, such as O negative.
On the other hand, there are fewer appointments for blood types where demand is lower, such as AB positive.
Changes in blood stock levels
We aim to have a 6-day supply of each blood type in stock.
If supplies of a particular blood type dip, we prioritise appointments for regular donors with that blood type.
Source: NHS Give Blood (https://www.blood.co.uk/news-and-campaigns/campaigns/blood-donor-appeal/)
On the day I was given a form to fill in and on it was a box to tick if I would consider becoming a donor.
I didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t so I ticked the box and from that moment, I was officially added to the British bone marrow registry (now known as the NHS Stem Cell Donor Registry).
Nothing changed after that. My life continued on as normal and I barely gave it a second thought.
Then in July 2020, after having my son, Damian, I was suddenly reminded of just how important it is to help others.
We’d had a traumatic experience – I had blood clots leading up to his birth, had an emergency c-section in which I lost two pints of blood and we had to stay in hospital for 10 days after he was born due to a viral infection.
By the time we did eventually come home, I knew we were both lucky to be alive.
I wanted to do something to give back, but I wasn’t sure what. And then I heard the story of Ashley Cain’s daughter, Azaylia.
When she was just eight weeks old, her parents received the devastating news that she had acute myeloid leukaemia.
I had a general understanding of what this type of cancer was – a cancer of the white blood cells that usually progresses quickly and aggressively – and that it often required immediate treatment.
Like so many others whose hearts were captured by their story, I began regularly watching her parents’ social media accounts for updates.
I learned Azaylia was undergoing chemotherapy but that also, at 12 weeks old, it was determined she would need a stem cell transplant due to the aggressive nature of her cancer.
But it was also terrifying to learn that, at the time, patients, like Azaylia, from mixed ethnic backgrounds, had only a 20% chance of finding an unrelated stem cell donor match.
While I knew my heritage wouldn’t be a match for Azaylia – I’m half Greek, half British – I figured that maybe I would be a match for someone else and if so, then it was worth a chance.
After all, if it had been Damian in that situation, I would have wanted someone to do the same for me.
Not realising that all donors are linked on one giant global database – meaning I could be a match for someone anywhere between my hometown of Liverpool to Sydney – I signed up to be a stem cell donor for a second time, this time through DKMS.
After that, all I could do was wait to hear if I was a match.
The thing is, most people who sign up to these registries will never have to do a thing. So many factors come into play for you to be an acceptable donor, with the most important being that tissue types have to match.
But, in July this year, I got the email that I was indeed the perfect match for a patient.
I was so excited I could burst!
Of course there was a lot of information to take in – though thankfully the NHS Stem Cell Donor Registry office had already sent over information packets and leaflets to answer all my questions – and I would need to get GP sign off to go ahead, but, I already knew what my answer was going to be.
‘I would like to go ahead with the donation.’ I excitedly replied. ‘Please can you call me?’
There was a bit of a wait, but eventually I was booked to come down to London for the procedure a few weeks later.
The whole experience felt more like a mini break than a medical procedure though. I stayed in a hotel, I ate nice food and I only had to go to the hospital twice.
Admittedly, both times I was there for five hours, but the donation isn’t too dissimilar from giving blood: I sat in a bed, reading my books or daydreaming while looking out of the window and aside from the initial scratch of the needle, there was no pain.
When it came time to go home, I felt a real sense of pride and happiness.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve done some selfish things in my lifetime, but this felt like the one truly selfless act I could do. I felt I’d put some good into the world, I’d helped a perfect stranger.
Now, I’m just waiting to hear how the donation went at the other end.
For the time being I can only communicate with my recipient anonymously through the registry. If I have the opportunity, I would love to have contact. I will have to wait to see what if they’d be open to it too, but it would be a priceless experience.
Want to know more about stem cell donation?
For more information on registering as a stem cell donor and details on the donation process, visit blood.co.uk/stemcells
Then, in around two years time, I’ll likely be asked if I want to be in direct contact with them and them with me – hopefully we’ll both say yes because I’d love to meet them.
But until then, I’m trying to convince everyone in my life to sign up to become a donor.
Sadly, people of Black and Asian heritage are still underrepresented on the register, and the NHS has announced it needs one person to register every 20 minutes to keep up with increasing demand, reduce the cost of expensive stem cell imports and ensure every patient can find the match they need.
Personally, I’d just like to see more people signing up, because the more people that are on the register, the more chance patients (for whom a stem cell transplant could be the only chance of a cure) will have to find the match they need.
And though I signed up twice accidentally, it’s best if you only do this once to avoid duplicating the work. Plus, it doesn’t matter who you sign up with, just make sure you do it!
Because, aside from having my son, signing up to be a donor is the best thing I’ve ever done. If anything, I wish I’d done it even sooner.
As told to Emma Rossiter
This article was originally published November 23, 2024
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