This World Blood Cancer Day (28 May), blood cancer charity DKMS urges people to complete quick and easy mouth swabs to join the stem cell donor register
Stem cell donation is simple, but a crucial lifeline for people with blood cancer – but just 2.8% of 16-55’s in London are on the DKMS donor register
This is behind the UK average of 3.1%
New data released by blood cancer charity DKMS UK reveals that just 2.8% of 16-55’s in London are registered as potential stem cell donors with DKMS – below the UK average of 3.1%.
As the UK marks World Blood Cancer Day on 28 May, DKMS is calling on people across London to take action, and help to give people with blood cancer and serious blood disorders hope of a second chance at life by joining the stem cell donor register – which takes just a few minutes.
Every 14 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer. For many patients, a stem cell transplant from a matching donor is their best or only chance of survival – but only a very small proportion of the UK population are currently registered as potential donors.
Two patients who have been impacted by the need for more stem cell donors are brothers Cezar, 2.5 years, and David, 11 months, from west London. Both brothers have been diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening disorder, Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome.
“The day they were diagnosed was terrible,” says their mum, Marcela. “Cezar had been hospitalised with low platelets shortly after he was born, but doctors didn’t know what was wrong. When we finally found out, both boys were diagnosed on the same day. I had just given birth, and David was a new born in my lap. The doctors told us that a stem cell transplant is their only chance. Their dad or I would donate in a heartbeat, but sadly, neither of us are a match.”
Shortly after their diagnosis, Cezar and David’s family began working with DKMS UK to encourage more people to register as potential stem cell donors. They have been hoping to find a match for their little boys, or for other patients who need a stem cell transplant.
In recent weeks, they have received the incredible news that a match has been found for Cezar, and in a strange twist of fate, he is scheduled to be admitted for his potentially lifesaving transplant today, on World Blood Cancer Day.
“It’s not a perfect match, but someone out there is an 8/10 match for Cezar, and our medical team have said that this will be good enough to allow him to have his transplant,” says Marcela. “We are incredibly grateful that a donor has been found for him. For our family, the fact that he will be admitted on World Blood Cancer day makes all the campaigning we have done feel even more personal and emotional.”
Cezar has been scheduled for a stem cell transplant, but baby David is still searching for his matching donor.
“I just hope my boys get the chance to live long, happy lives,” says Marcela. “We’re so happy that Cezar is getting this chance at a normal life, and hopefully one day soon, someone who has signed up to the register will be able to give David that opportunity as well.”
There are lots of misconceptions about stem cell donation, but nine out of ten times it can be completed through a simple outpatient procedure, similar to donating blood platelets, and DKMS supports donors every step of the way.
DKMS spokesperson Bronagh Hughes says “For World Blood Cancer Day, hope starts with Londoners – we’re calling on people across the capital to get on the stem cell donor register. When a patient needs a stem cell transplant, most will not find a donor in their immediate family. Patients like Cezar and David will rely on finding a stranger who is a compatible stem cell match, and who can offer them a second chance at life. Joining the register means that you could offer that lifeline for someone in their time of greatest need. Most people will never be called to donate, but if you are, you have the potential to save someone’s life”.
Marcela and her family are marking World Blood Cancer Day with DKMS UK by encouraging people to order a free swab kit via the DKMS website (dkms.org.uk), complete some simple mouth swabs, and return them to be added to the stem cell donor register.
Signing up to the stem cell donor register is a quick and easy process involving some painless cheek swabs: if you are aged 16-55 and in general good health, you’re eligible to join the register with DKMS. If you are then matched with someone needing a transplant, in nine out of ten cases donating is a simple, outpatient process similar to donating blood platelets with support all the way from DKMS.
Things you didn’t know about blood cancer:
Blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
At any one time there are around 2,000 people in the UK in need of a stem cell transplant.
Of those registered, only 16 % are from UK minority ethnic backgrounds. This makes it more difficult for patients from these backgrounds to find a match
