Bradley Bowman
Bradley's DKMS Fundraising Page
Fundraising for DKMS
Story
I'm sure most of you haven't heard about DKMS, however hopefully after reading this you will know considerably more.
I joined the DKMS register around two years ago when an appeal was sent out to the local community near my work. We were informed a little boy was in desperate need of a stem cell donor and the family were frantically searching for one. I'm not 100% sure but sadly I don't believe a donor was ever found for him. Tragically there was probably someone out there that could have helped... unfortunately there just isn't enough people on the register.
Around a year-and-a-half past between signing up to the register and getting a call from DKMS (at the beginning of 2018) to say that I was a potential 'match' to a very sick patient somewhere in the world. Immediately I thought about the little boy and his family and all of the chanceful circumstances that had occurred for this to be possible. I'm a big believer in fate (despite life not making sense at times) so I had no hesitation when DKMS asked me if I was happy to go for some extra tests to make sure I was the most suitable candidate.
Following some further blood tests and a thorough medical in London I was selected as the chosen donor. It was quite surreal to think that my DNA could potentially save someone's life.
On Friday the 1st of June 2018 I started my course of 8 double-dose G-CSF injections (two per day for four days). These injections stimulated my bone marrow to produce excess stem cells in my bloodstream ready for the 'collection' and my donation on the Tuesday.
On Tuesday the 5th of June 2018 I gave my PBSC (Peripheral Blood Stem Cell) donation at the London Clinic. During a 4-5 hour procedure (in which blood is taken from one of your arms, passed through a stem cell 'collection' machine and then filtered and returned back into your other arm) the machine had collected 4.5 million stem cells. This reached the quota needed for this patient.
I only know limited details at the moment, however I hope my donation helps this person and gives them the second chance they deserve.
During this past year I have realised how amazing the charity and the team at DKMS are. For this reason I am aiming to raise at least £2,500 for them. I also want to try and get more people signed-up to the database as it really could save someone's life.
For your understanding, it costs DKMS £40 to register just one new donor, so all money raised will go towards adding even more people to the donor database.
I am lucky that I don't personally know anyone that has been in this situation before, however life is full of uncertainties and maybe one day I will be appealing to others for help for a loved one or even myself. Everyone's chances are much greater if there are more donors registered.
On a personal note, the London Marathon is going to be a big challenge for me as I'm really not a lover of running...
Having said this, I've always wanted to do the London Marathon as my Dad and Grandad have done it numerous times and I'd like to continue the generational 'Bowman' trend.
I am already starting to train and have a scheduled 17-week plan that will lead me to the start and (hopefully the) finish line! :-)
Thank you in advance for donating and if you would also like to register as a DKMS donor then you can do here: https://www.dkms.org.uk/en/register-now
Thanks again,
Bradley
DKMS - We Delete Blood Cancer
DKMS began in Germany back in 1991 when the founder, Dr Peter Harf, formed the non-profit organisation in honour of his wife, Mechtild. Mechtild had recently lost her battle with blood cancer following the family's unsuccessful search to find a potentially lifesaving matching blood stem cell donor. At that time, there were only 3,000 potential blood stem cell donors available to provide a transplant in Germany. Peter had a vision to change this and create a future where every blood cancer patient has a second chance of life.
Within one year of the founding of DKMS, the number of registered potential blood stem cell donors had increased nearly 23 times.
Fast forward to today, and that number is over 8 million people worldwide and as a result over 69,000 people have been given a second chance at life.
The worldwide search for new donors continues though as many people are still not able to find the matching donor they need.
Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer and some 2,000 people are desperately searching for a potentially lifesaving blood stem cell donor each year.
Since launching in the UK in 2013, DKMS have registered more than 400,000 people as potential blood stem cell donors, however this amount is less than 1% of the UK population.
DKMS are dedicated to the fight against blood cancer, striving to provide a matching donor for every blood cancer patient in need of a blood stem cell donation.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page which I have set-up to raise money and further awareness for DKMS.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.