Tuesday 4th March, 2025 at 8:59am
I signed up to the Anthony Nolan register a number of years ago but I should have signed up well before then, and I would encourage everyone to sign up if they can. You have to be aged 16-30 to sign up, and you could help to save someone’s life.
When I was in high school, there was a boy called Jak Trueman who was diagnosed with a rare cancer and sadly passed away. Due to this a member from Anthony Nolan came to my school to tell us about the importance of stem cell donations and to encourage as many of us to sign up as possible. At the time, even though I had all the information on what was involved I was still worried and never signed up. I was young and worried that it might impact me playing football, along with other things. However, looking back now I was totally wrong. The process is so simple and only impacts you for a couple of days depending on what method of donation is taken. I think a common misconception when you mention “stem cell or bone marrow” is that everyone thinks it’s an invasive process and there are a lot of myths behind this. However, 90% of the time stem cells are collected through the bloodstream rather than the bone marrow process.
Fast forward a couple of years and an Anthony Nolan post pops up on my phone. I start to look at the information available on their website and realise that I was totally wrong about the process and I signed up to be on the register.
Signing up to the register was a very simple process. I filled out an online form on their website which asked some basic questions. Anthony Nolan then posted a swab kit to my house, where I had to swab the inside of my cheeks and send the swabs back. Once Anthony Nolan received the swabs and tested them, they were able to add me onto the register. Once added to the register, it was just a case of waiting to see if I was a match for someone. You get told that it might be months, years or you might never be matched with someone. Over the years, I knew it was something I was signed up to but kind of forgot about. That was until I got an email to say I could be a potential match for someone in December.
When I got the email to say I was a potential match for someone, I was a little taken back. If I’m being honest, I thought it was a spam email when I first seen it and had to check that the phone numbers matched up before realising it was real. I was in a bit of shock, but I was excited at the same time to think that I could potentially help to save someone’s life. The following week I had a nurse come to the house and take blood samples to send away for testing. About a month later, it was confirmed by the blood results that I was a compatible match for someone. I was told estimated dates for my donation and a medical appointment was set up where I travelled to London, and basically got a full body MOT to make sure I was fit and healthy to donate.
In early March, I will be donating through a process called peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) where I donate stem cells through my bloodstream. This is the most common method used to collect stem cells with 90% of donations being done this way. On the day I will be hooked up to a machine through two cannulas (one in each arm). The machine draws blood out one arm, filters out the stem cells and plasma from the blood into a bag, and then puts the remaining red blood cells back into the bloodstream through the other arm. This will happen for around 4-5hrs. If enough stem cells are collected there is no need for a second donation day, however if not enough stem cells are collected then I will have to donate the following day.
On the lead up to my donation day, I will have to take G-CSF injections for four days. These injections will help to boost the amount of stem cells ready for collection by stimulating the bone marrow to release stem cells into my bloodstream. The recovery time after a PBSC donation differs for each person but usually donors recover after 2-3 days.
The whole process has gone quite quickly since being told in December that I was a potential match, to now 3 months later being due to donate.
Anthony Nolan have been absolutely amazing throughout the process at keeping me informed, and always being on the other end of an email/phone call. You have a coordinator who keeps in constant contact, gives you every little detail, and answers any questions you have. They make sure that you are not out of pocket and cover all your expenses. I’m fortunate that my work has been very understanding, however I know not everyone has this luxury. If this was the case then, Anthony Nolan would cover any losses through work, as well as your travel, accommodation and a daily allowance for food/drink during you medical and donation days.
There are over 2,000 people in the UK in need of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant every year and only 2% of people in the UK are registered as a stem cell donor. I would highly encourage anyone aged 16-30 to sign up to the Anthony Nolan register. I know this isn’t something that’s for everyone, but even if you have a look on their website to get more information, you might be surprised at how something so simple could do so much for someone who needs it. There is a lot of information available on their website, and I can assure you that it would ease any doubts if you have any. It literally takes less than 10 minutes to register your interest in joining the register, and you would be one step closer to being a lifesaver.
You can find out more about Anthony Nolan and join the register HERE
