Sophie Needs a Lifesaver

Childhood should be a happy and carefree time, however, unfortunately this isn’t the for seven year old Sophie who was, diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia) in June 2017. After two and a half years of chemotherapy, Sophie’s family finally rang the ‘end of treatment’ bell – a fantastic milestone to reach!

Sadly, devastation struck again when Sophie relapsed at the beginning of 2020. Sophie’s family are now urgently seeking a blood stem cell donor as their final option.

Sophie’s parents Colin and Emily have described her as a “confident, mature and fun-loving girl”.

“She enjoys dancing and singing and until recently had been going to weekly dance lessons.”

“As you can imagine we were absolutely devastated to hear our little girl has relapsed after a long and hard two and half years. However, we are a strong family and we are trying to stay positive and focus on Sophie's treatment and well-being."

“It would be amazing if as a country more people registered, as currently the percentage of registered donors in the UK is much lower than in some other countries.”

Could you be the perfect match for Sophie, or someone else in need?

If you’re 17-55 and in general good health, request a swab kit to become a potential blood stem cell donor today.

Every 20 minutes, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer. This diagnosis is devastating, and during the corona virus outbreak, it is even more crucial that we do all we can to offer hope to people with blood cancer and blood disorders. We have seen the numbers of people joining the blood stem cell register decline dramatically in recent times, and now, more than ever before, we need you to sign up. For many, a blood stem cell donation is their best chance of recovery and only 30% of people find a match within their family. This means the remainder will need to find an anonymous blood stem cell donor, and that could be you.

Information about registration

Registering as a blood stem cell donor is easy, simply check your eligibility and request your home swab kit. Once you receive the kit, you will need to swab the inside of your cheek, following the instructions on the pack, before sending them back to us. Once we receive your swabs, they are processed in our lab to determine you tissue typing. Your typing is then stored, in an anonymised form, on the global database. This means you can be identified as a match for anyone in the world

A note about Coronavirus

We understand there are lots of worries and concerns around coronavirus and would like to reassure you that it is completely safe to request and send in your swabs.

If you're a match

If you are identified as a match, you will donate in one of two ways. In the majority of cases this is via a process called “Peripheral Blood Stem Cell collection”, which is a little like giving blood. In 10% of cases, the stem cells are taken from your bone marrow, under general anaesthetic. The method of donation is chosen by the patients team based on what is most suitable for them.

Together we will beat blood cancer.

To register as a blood stem cell donor, you need to be between 17-55, in general good health and not registered with another donor centre. To check your eligibility and request your swab kit, follow the link below.

It costs us £40 to register a new donor on the UK stem cell registry. As a charity, we rely on monetary donations from the public to help cover this cost and greatly appreciate any contribution, no matter how big or small.

If you are unable to register as a potential donor, we would be very grateful if you could consider making a contribution towards the cost of a registration.