This is my story:

It all started 11 years ago, watching TV – Daniel De-Gale and his parents were on GMTV campaigning for ethnic minorities to come forward to donate blood to see if they were a possible bone marrow match for their son who desperately needed a bone marrow transplant.

I went along to the blood donation, mobile unit which had been set up in the car park at Tesco’s in Brixton, South London. After my blood donation I went home and forgot all about it.

A few years later I was contacted by The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust who informed me that from that blood donation, I had been identified as a potential match for someone.  I was requested to visit my doctor to have further samples of blood taken, which would enable the Trust to confirm my suitability. On this occasion I wasn’t.

Over the next few years, I was contacted on a further 2 occasions, again being asked to give blood as I was potentially a match and again I wasn’t.

However on 3rd May 2002 I received a phone call informing me that I was a definite match for an individual in America, and would I be prepared to donate marrow, or rather in my case stem cells.  As I was donating cells the process involved me getting a series of injections over a course of days.  Once the right amount of cells had been ‘made’ they would be ‘harvested’ during a procedure similar to dialysis.

An appointment was then made for a nurse to come to my house to administer the injections.  I received an injection every day for the next 4 days, and on the 5th day I went into hospital to have the cells harvested.

I must say, the injections themselves were ok, but when the cells were growing it was mildly painful, partly relieved by pain killers.  The harvesting was painless, just a slight scratch when the needles were going in.  Although it does take a long time, I was in the hospital for most of the day.

I received fantastic aftercare, my Donor Co-ordinator was in constant touch asking how I was and for the next 5 years I had regular blood tests, just to ensure that everything was as it should be and that no adverse affects had been caused.

It’s been quite a while since I thought about my donation that is until I turned up at a Comedy show at the Hackney Empire, East London on the 23rd May 2009. Orin Lewis and a team of ‘volunteers’ were there promoting ACLT and the good work they do. I wanted to introduce myself to let him know that it was his son Daniel De-Gale that had inspired me all those years ago to become a donor.

Daniel started this for me all those years ago and now Orin has asked me to write my story, so in a funny way I’ve come full circle.

Helen Robinson
13th July 2009