NI is almost double the UK average in lifesaving stem cell donor registrations

As the UK marks World Blood Cancer Day on 28 May, DKMS is calling on people across Northern Ireland to take action, and help to give people with blood cancer a second chance at life by joining the stem cell donor register.

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.

DKMS spokesperson Deborah Hyde says, “When a patient needs a stem cell transplant, only one in three will find a donor in their immediate family. This means that two thirds of patients will need to find 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”.

One person who has been searching for match through the stem cell donor register is nine-year-old Dylan Hume from Newtownabbey. Dylan was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a rare and life threatening blood disorder. Part of his treatment included a platelet transfusion nearly every week to keep him alive. Doctors told his parents that he needed a transplant to try and kickstart his body into producing healthy blood again. Sadly, none of his family were a match, so a search began to find a stranger who could save his life.

Dylan is a bubbly, sporty little boy. Before he became ill last year, he loved playing football alongside his friends with St Mary’s FC in Glengormley, where his dad Ross is a coach. His family and friends have been working with DKMS to sign people up to the stem cell register, to find out if they are a match for Dylan or someone else waiting to find their match. Last month they held a donor drive event at Glengormley Integrated Primary School, where more than 300 people joined the stem cell register in a single day.

Eventually, his parents received the lifechanging news that a donor had been found, a total stranger was a close enough match, and had agreed to come forward and donate their stem cells. Dylan was very unwell by this stage, but last week, he was finally well enough to undergo the procedure, and he received his potentially life-saving transplant.

His mum Claire says, “He had been very poorly in the run up to the transplant, and it had to be postponed a couple of times. His donor was very accommodating, and worked with the transplant team, which we are so grateful for. We still have a journey ahead of us. We’re anxiously waiting to see that the bone marrow has grafted, we continue to remain positive, and we’ve finally been given hope”.

Claire continues, “It brings us so much comfort to the know that from the thousands of people who registered in support of Dylan, some of them will be a match for other people in our position. When a family experiences an illness like this you tend to hear more of other families going through the same heartache, so knowing that Dylan’s appeal has generated so many registrations and awareness is very comforting.”

Claire and Dylan are marking World Blood Cancer Day with DKMS by encouraging everyone aged 17–55 and in good general health to order a free swab kit via their website (dkms.org.uk), complete a simple cheek swab, and return it to be added to the register.

Things you didn’t know about blood cancer:

• Blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
• Every year, nearly 13,000 people die from blood cancer 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

Signing up to the stem cell donor register is a quick and easy process involving some painless mouth swabs: if you are aged 17-55 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.