Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma in 2010, and underwent chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant using my own cells.  The cancer went into remission, but I relapsed in February 2012, and a stem cell transplant using a donor was considered the best option, with the possibility of a permanent cure.  Within about eight weeks, a matching donor from Portugal was found by The Anthony Nolan Trust, and in February this year I underwent a donor stem cell transplant.  It was a gruelling process, and I was in hospital for five weeks.  However I am now fully recovered, fit and well, and I have a brand new immune system! If you would like to know more about me and my story, I have a blog on Wordpress: www.viewfromfloorfifteen.wordpress.com

Some of my friends suggested raising money for the Anthony Nolan Trust, which I thought was a great idea – and that is how this fundraising page has been born.

Every year, Anthony Nolan are able to find donors for about half the people who come to them needing a lifesaving transplant.  Their aim is to be able to provide a donor for every person with a blood cancer who comes to them for help.  Currently the NHS doesn't fund the tissue typing tests done to identify potential donors or store the donors' samples - this is only done by Anthony Nolan in this country and it is wholly funded by charitable donations.

To give you some idea of how much money is needed for just one person to have a donor found for them and receive a transplant, I have copied the following figures off Anthony Nolan's website:

£17,500 is the average cost of a Thermalcycler, which amplifies fragments of DNA and helps determine if a donor’s stem cells are a potentially lifesaving match for a patient.

£8,400 is the cost of running the LabXpress, the robotic system for tissue typing our potentially lifesaving donors’ samples, for one day.

£5,600 is the cost of a -70C freezer large enough to hold 75,000 of our potential donors’ samples which could be chosen for potentially lifesaving transplants.

£700 is the average cost of the specialist equipment, materials and staff to transport cord blood donations to our Cord Blood Bank in Nottingham.

£500 is the average cost of testing and storing a cord blood unit to provide a potentially lifesaving transplant.

£100 is the cost of recruiting, tissue typing and maintaining a new potential donor on the Anthony Nolan register.

£17 is the cost of a special box used for transporting donated stem cells from a donor to a patient for a potentially lifesaving transplant.

£7 is the cost of the ‘spit kit’ used for taking a potential donor’s saliva sample for tissue-typing – the first stage of joining the Anthony Nolan register.

 

If we are able to raise £500, that would fund five new people to be recruited, tissue typed, and placed on the register as potential donors. are.

Finally, if you are aged between 16 and 30 you could register as a potential donor.  It's easy to register, and you will be sent a swab test to do in the post.  Then, if you are selected as a donor, the actual process of donation is generally pretty simple and pain free - see Anthony Nolan's website for details.

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.