Luke Benjamin joined our register as a way of paying tribute to the memory of his recently departed grandparents. The call to be a match turned a miserable day travelling into one of the most exciting days of his life and ultimately lead to a life changing experience. One chapter ends, another begins… I heard about Anthony Nolan while…
‘Easiest, most painless experience’ – Elise’s donation story
When Elise Smith joined our register in June 2013 she never expected to become a stem cell donor twice nor did she expect to find love – but she did. Her decision to help others kick-started her date with destiny and set her on her path to meet her future husband to discuss being…
‘If you have the chance to help someone, you’ve got to do it.’ – Carl’s story
Journalist, writer and broadcaster Carl Anka blogs honestly about his fears and concerns around donating and how he overcame them to do an ‘amazing’ and ‘selfless’ act. My friend was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, and a lot of my friends and I signed up in support. To be honest, I signed up then mostly…
‘One of the greatest things I’ve done’ – Francis’ donation story
Former Anthony Nolan staffer Francis Mason blogs about how doing something as simple as donating his stem cells turned out to be one of the most amazing things he’s done. I used to work for Anthony Nolan in their digital team and joined the register not long after starting, when I was 28. I had…
Saving lives through music – Beatrice’s campaigning journey
Getting diagnosed Only two weeks before my 18th birthday, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My symptoms were scarce and vague which meant when it came to my diagnosis, my cancer was at a stage so bad, the tumours inside my chest were huge. One was the size of a melon and the other…
Project Hope: Jaya’s story
‘When it comes to your own health, being a doctor can be both a blessing and a curse.’ In 2014, Jaya Ravindran found out that he had acute T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukaemia – a kind of blood cancer. As a doctor himself, he knew all too well how things could go, which, he says,…