May is 23-years old and was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in June 2015 and her best chance of survival is a blood stem cell donation from a matching donor.
After intensive chemotherapy she was thrilled to learn that a perfect match had been found, but just days later, she was given the devastating news that the donor was no longer available and the urgent search is now on to find a second suitable match. Because of May’s Nigerian heritage, the best chance of finding a suitable match comes from within this community.
May, who lives in Dorset with husband Michael, a former British soldier, and their two-year old daughter, Selina, has made an impassioned plea for help:
“Please register today as a stem cell donor. Do it if not for my sake, but for the sake of my little girl. She is only two years old and needs her mummy.
Your selfless act of registering as a bone marrow donor and getting tested could ultimately save my life and other people with blood disorders.”
To Register
Any healthy adult living in the UK, between the ages of 18-55 can become a potential blood stem cell donor. All it takes to go on to the UK stem cell registry is a two minute cheek swab, sent to you when you register online at www.dkms.org.uk
Alternatively, it is possible to organise an event within the local community to register potential donors; for more information about this, please contact the team below, who will be happy to explain the simple process.
Facts about blood cancer
• Every 20 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.
• Blood cancer can be curable if a matching donor can be found.
• Finding a person with the same tissue match is extremely rare; there are more than 8,500 known tissue characteristics occurring in millions of combinations.
• Around 70% of patients need a match from an unrelated donor.
Contact Information
If you have any questions, or require more information, please contact a member of the DKMS Donor Recruitment Team:
Lisa Nugent / lisa.nugent@dkms.org.uk / 0208 747 5634
Joe Hallett / joe.hallett@dkms.org.uk / 0208 747 5632
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