Ashbourne resident Gail Barke has helped save the life of a complete stranger – simply by making a New Year’s resolution to join the bone marrow register.
Gail, 41, joined the Anthony Nolan register in January 2012, which we use to match bone marrow donors to blood cancer patients in need of a bone marrow (or stem cell) transplant.
Just ten months later, we contacted Gail to tell her that she was a match for a patient. “I was so excited when I found out that I was a match for someone, and so were all my friends and family,” Gail says. “They all thought it was a really positive thing to do.”
Gail travelled to Sheffield in February this year to donate via Peripheral Stem Cell Collection (PBSC). She says, “Donating wasn’t painful at all. I had a few injections to stimulate the production of stem cells in my blood stream which made me feel a bit achy and tired, but that was it. To anyone considering joining the register, I’d tell them to do it – it’s such an amazing thing to do because you’re potentially giving someone else their life back.”
Ann O’Leary, Head of Register Development at Anthony Nolan, adds, “The vast majority of donors donate in the same way as Gail, via a process that’s very similar to giving blood. Too many people think that bone marrow donation is painful or time-consuming, which is why stories like Gail’s are so important – because it helps people understand how easy and straightforward it is.”
Anyone aged 16–30 can sign up to the Anthony Nolan register, although we particularly need young men to join. Potential donors can sign up online, where they will need to fill in a short application form and provide a small saliva sample.
There is also a local Ashbourne Friends Group, who raise funds and awareness for Anthony Nolan. If any Ashbourne residents would like more information, please contact friends@anthonynolan.org.