I signed up to the Anthony Nolan register...

Anthony Nolan is a UK based charity that that works in the areas of leukaemia and Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The charity manage and recruit donors to the Anthony Nolan Register, one of the three bone marrow registers in the United Kingdom.

My friends mum is one of the wonderful people who volunteer for the charity; she visits various schools, colleges and sixth forms promoting knowledge of the diseases and how people can get involved. Recently she won the Anthony Nolan volunteer of the year award, which was a massive achievement! 

Earlier in the summer she visited my sixth form and gave a presentation about the charity and their work, which was truly inspiring and touching. I became interested in the idea of becoming a stem cell donar, as I was already a blood donar. 

Of course I had heard of the risks and pain that stem cell donation brought upon individuals, and it did scare me a little. But my worries were swept away as I was informed the procedure was hardly painful at all, just a very boring four to five hour procedure with a needle in your arm. (or the traditional way, which only 10% of donations are done, which is a painless operation under general anesthesia)

I doubted the whole thing for a second but then thought...it's the least I can do. 

These people, who are battling for their lives, will have endured much more pain than I will ever, hopefully, have to. Surely, this is easy in comparison. 

So back in November I visited another presentation and decided to actually sign up to the register. The founders of the charity, Shirley and Keith, were present at the presentation. 

The registration involves a few simple steps. Firstly you have to fill out a form, containing all your details and medical history. Then you spit into a tube, delightful I know! It sounds strange, but it's very effective in finding out an individuals tissue type. The tissue type is the thing they're looking at to find a match! 

Trust me, it is very hard spitting into a tube when you're being pressured into it! As soon as Shirley told me to spit into the tube, my mouth suddenly become as dry as the Sahara desert! It seemed impossible to fill even the tiniest volume. 

And then that was it. They informed me that I would be contacted in about six weeks, and that was it. I was off, feeling a little better about myself than I did when I entered the room. 

It sounds a very simple procedure, and also an amazing thing to do, but you need to be committed. You can't wimp out of the register at the last minute when someone needs your stem cells, it could be a matter of life or death. Also, you have to be aged 16 - 30 and in good health. 

Visit www.anthonynolan.org for more information :)


I will posting alot more posts very soon! 

xxx