Yvette Chin is an explorer who makes friends wherever she goes, whether it’s at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro or while cycling around the outer Hebrides. When not traveling, she spends her life maintaining beautiful buildings for the nation, from Buckingham Palace to the Barbican.
In May 2021 she was suddenly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare aggressive blood cancer, and now she only has months to live. The last line of treatment is a stem cell transplant, but it needs to be a 90 percent genetic match and the family is calling for more East Asian people to sign up as donors.
75% of UK patients won’t find a matching donor in their families. Patients who are White Caucasian have a 72% chance of finding the best match from an unrelated donor but this nearly halves to 37% chance for patients from minority ethnic backgrounds. While exact statistics are unavailable, it’s understood that the chances are currently much lower for Yvette.
Yvette’s brother Colin and sister-in-law Serena are calling out a plea to the East Asian community in the UK and internationally to sign up to a bone marrow register, so that Yvette and others like her can have a second chance at life.
There are three main registers in the UK. People aged 18-30 can register with Anthony Nolan and people aged 18-55 can register with DKMS. It’s an incredibly easy procedure – a simple, free self administered mouth swab one can do at home. British Bone Marrow Registry accepts people from 17-40, you register when you donate blood.
Colin Chin, Yvette’s brother, said
“Our family has registered but it’s not enough. I hope if more people from the community know how quick and easy it is to do, and that it’s literally life saving, we can find a match. Not just for Yvette, but also for others who don’t have time to wait. I’m asking for everyone to sign up and share #SwabForYvette on social media to spread awareness that we all have the power to save lives with a simple mouth swab.”
Since Yvette’s diagnosis last May she’s been in and out of hospital for chemotherapy. She turned 41 in October 2021 and managed a weekend out of hospital, making time to catch the latest James Bond with her brother. She then started an experimental trial, but devastatingly, in February 2022 she was told the trial had failed, and without treatment she has three to six months left to live. Now her only chance for survival is to find a match for stem cell donation through the bone marrow register.
Yvette Chin said:
“There are others in my situation right now, and there will be more in the future. People, who like me, want to see their nieces, nephews, sons and daughters grow up. The more people who sign up right now, the more likely there will be a bone marrow match for me and countless others.”
Terence Lovell, Chief Engagement & Marketing Officer at Anthony Nolan said:
“To be told there is no stem cell donor for you, because of your ethnicity, will have been devastating to hear. We are doing everything we can to support Yvette and her family during this difficult time.
“You have a one in three chance of finding your perfect genetic match on the stem cell register if you’re from a minority ethnic background. We must change the odds, which is why we’re calling on young people from East Asian backgrounds aged 16-30 to join the Anthony Nolan register.
“Every single person who signs up to the register has the potential to give hope to someone, like Yvette, who is in desperate need of a lifesaving stem cell transplant. Together, we can work towards a future where ethnicity does not influence who survives blood cancer.”
