Easter Ross mum of blood cancer tot urges would-be stem cell donors to show the love this Valentine's Day; Alness lass Adeline Davidson's plight highlighted by DKMS charity in major push to beat coronavirus crisis setback
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THE Easter Ross mum of a little girl with an extremely rare form of blood cancer has urged life-saving donors to step up to help others.
Steph Davidson made the appeal as blood cancer charity DKMS asked people to show the love this Valentine's Day by signing up for a worldwide register of potential blood stem cell donors.
Her daughter Adeline (3) is awaiting a blood stem cell donation from a stranger and has endured many "false starts" and complications as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
Ms Davidson, who lives in Alness, is backing the DKMS campaign at a time when UK-wide registrations have slumped by 28 per cent.
Big-hearted Highlanders have bucked that trend with an increase in registrations during the pandemic.
With no match within her family, a blood stem cell donation from a complete stranger is Adeline’s best chance of survival.
The brave little girl, who has missed out on her first year at nursery and valiantly gone through painful and invasive treatment over the last year, has finally got a date for her lifesaving transplant.
With one donor pulling out at the last minute, and her transplant date pushed back several times due to the pandemic, her family have their heart set on finally having their healthy and happy little girl back home and able to play with her friends and family.
Her mum said: “She’s such a sweet and friendly little girl, so confident and the best big sister to her little brother and sister. It’s just felt like the world has been against us this past year with so many treatments, needles and false starts.
"We are so incredibly grateful to this stranger, who could be anywhere in the world. I want to give them the biggest hug in the world. I can’t begin to imagine how awful it is for other families who have a loved one in need of a lifesaving transplant where no match has been found.
"As a parent it makes you feel so powerless being unable to protect your child. Anyone who is healthy and able to register, please, please do. It’s such a small commitment for you and could give someone a second chance at life – Adeline’s not even had a chance to start hers and we were so close to it being taken away from her. ”
The Valentine’s Day campaign by DKMS is asking people to celebrate with their loved one by taking five minutes to sign up to the stem cell donor register to potentially save the love of someone else’s life.
Every 20 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer. Around 2000 people each year are dealt the shocking news that they need a blood stem cell transplant.
For these people the perfect match doesn’t necessarily have a compatible Zodiac sign or share the same taste in films – they need to have a genetically similar make up to give them the best shot at a second chance of life.
With two in three of those people not finding a perfect match within their family, they must turn to the worldwide donor registry and rely on a stranger to save their lives. By signing up to the register you could one day be a match for someone who needs you to help save their life.
The pandemic has had a destructive impact on the lives of people with blood cancer. Not only has it led to a huge drop in the number of people registering as donors, it has meant fewer people are visiting the GP with cancer symptoms, and resulted in hospital appointments and treatments being postponed or cancelled. Due to this, DKMS expects to see a surge in blood cancer diagnoses and increased demand for blood stem cell donors when we are back to normal, making it all the more important that people register now.
Jonathan Pearce, chief executive of DKMS UK, said: “At DKMS, we are dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and are proud to have registered over 780,000 blood stem cell donors. Hearing the stories of people like Adeline shows why people registering as blood stem cell donors is so important.
"With the shocking drop in registrations over the last 10 months we are calling on Scots to save the love of someone else’s life this Valentine’s Day. We want every worried family to get the reassuring call that a match for their loved on has been found. If you’re inspired by Adeline’s story, please register as a stem cell donor to give the ultimate gift this Valentine’s Day by saving a life.”
How to sign up
Signing up to save the life of someone like Adeline is easy to do. Register as a potential lifesaver online at dkms.org.uk to receive your home swab kit. It takes a few moments to swab. When you return your swab kit you go on standby to help save someone’s life.
Taking the first steps to register as a potential blood stem cell donor can be done within a few minutes from the comfort of your own home. If you are aged between 17-55 and in general good health you can sign up for a home swab kit online. Your swabs can then be returned with the enclosed pre-paid envelope to DKMS in order to ensure that your details are added to the UK’s aligned stem cell registry.
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