When Poole dad Terry Treloar saw an appeal for bone marrow donors in the press 12 years ago, he had no idea that one day he would have the chance to save someone’s life.
In 2001, Terry saw a local news story calling on people to step forward as bone marrow donors for a young boy who had a rare type of cancer. Terry was struck by the story as he had a son of a similar age but he didn’t get around to joining the register. A few months later, Terry saw a follow up story saying that the little boy had died.
Terry, 37, says, ‘I didn’t sleep very well that night, going over the story again and again in my head. The next morning I applied to join the Anthony Nolan register.’
In October 2012, blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan contacted Terry to tell him that he was a match for someone with blood cancer. Two months later, Terry donated his bone marrow (or stem cells) via Peripheral Blood Stem Cell collection (PBSC), a procedure similar to giving blood.
Terry says, ‘I received the phone call I had waited 11 years for - I was the match. I couldn’t believe it, I was so excited! The procedure was totally painless and the feeling that I had made such a significant difference to someone’s life was fantastic and quite emotional. I find myself thinking about my recipient quite a lot, wondering how her recovery is going and just hoping that she is going to be ok. It is a very strange feeling having this unique bond with someone I don’t know.’
Ann O’Leary, Anthony Nolan’s Head of Register Development, says, ‘Terry has done a remarkable and selfless thing – he has given someone with blood cancer the best chance possible at survival. When people read about bone marrow donation it is often something they want to do but don’t get around to. However, we need more young men to take action and join the bone marrow register, just like Terry did. You could be the perfect match for someone desperately in need of a bone marrow transplant – you could save someone’s life.’
To join the Anthony Nolan register, you need to be between the ages of 16–30 and in good health. All potential donors stay on the register until the age of 60 and may be called to donate at any point during this time.