Only 37% of stem cell (bone marrow) transplant recipients from minority ethnic backgrounds receive the best stem cell donor match from an unrelated donor, compared to nearly 72% for Caucasian people – these highlights why ACLT are working to diversify donor registers so that people like Brenda can find their match sooner.

Life for Brenda, waiting for her match has been hard, receiving several types of treatment including prescribed medication, light therapy, and radiotherapy to treat the blood cancer – her condition had reached stage 4.

With hope in every register, Brenda found her donor match in Saudi. We often reach out nationally for people to register but often we find they can be anywhere in the world – much like Daniel whose match was in America. We are hopeful to see that people are registering around the world to help and save lives globally.

It is often commented whether the donation of stem cells (bone marrow) or blood is halal, this is often an Islamic misconception, due to not being able to alter the body that Allah gave you. Donating blood does not alter your body but helps to save the life of someone and the life of mankind and you can often find that there are registration drives in Mosques. 

You can find out more here about donation and the Islamic faith.

People are often unaware of how stem cells (bone marrow) are donated – it is a simple nonsurgical procedure. Most donors will be connected to a machine to collect their stem cells from one arm, where they will be separated from the blood, which is returned to the donor’s arm. There is also a second procedure, where donations are taken using a needle and syringe under general anaesthetic – but this only makes up 10% of donors.