A Manchester tech influencer has launched an urgent appeal for people to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register.
Asia Sharif, from Deansgate, was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in 2023.
After receiving chemotherapy Asia was told that she was in remission in April 2024, but her symptoms returned, and doctors confirmed that her cancer had relapsed in June 2024.
27-year-old Asia, who taught herself to code during lockdown and works as a software engineer for NatWest, is undergoing further chemotherapy treatment at The Christie in Manchester. But she has been told that a stem cell transplant may be her best chance of survival.
Asia is half Somalian and half Moroccan; her mixed heritage means she has a more unique tissue type which can make it harder to find a matching stem cell donor. That’s why she’s calling on all healthy 16–30-year-olds to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register and potentially save a life.
“Before I got sick, I was just normal person. I just enjoyed going to the gym, doing pilates, walking in nature. Every weekend I would go to the mountains with my foster brother,” Asia said.
Asia was named by Computer Weekly as one of the most significant women in the technology field in 2022. She also won the WIBF (Women in Banking and Finance) Tech Leader Award 2023 and was named Woman of the Year by the Bupa Every Women In Technology Awards in 2024.
Asia’s symptoms started in November 2021 with debilitating itching which she put down to her gym routine, but when lumps began to appear and her tonsils swelled up so much that she struggled to eat and breathe, she went to the doctors.
“I was itching like a crazy person, 24/7. I had bruises like all over my body, black bruises, purple bruises, pink bruises”, she said.
As her symptoms became more severe, tests continued to come back as inconclusive. Convinced something was seriously wrong, Asia turned to private healthcare, via the insurance she got through work, and was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma.
Asia, who grew up in Liverpool before settling in Manchester, says that her faith has helped her throughout her diagnosis and treatment.
She asked that people join the stem cell register if they “want to make a difference and save someone’s life...I think it's a blessing to save someone,” she said.
Asia is joining forces with stem cell transplant charity Anthony Nolan, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, for the campaign ‘Register for Asia’ to encourage people from all backgrounds, especially those from minority ethnic backgrounds, to sign up to the stem cell register.
Yasmin Sheikh, head of policy and public affairs at Anthony Nolan, says:
“For patients from mixed and minority ethnic backgrounds like Asia, finding a match can be more difficult because they are more likely to have rare tissue types.
“That’s why it’s vital that more young people from minority ethnic backgrounds sign up to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register because every single person that signs up could give a patient like Asia a second chance at life.”
“As a charity we’re also working hard on other actions that could help more patients access life-saving treatment, such as partnering with international registers and accelerating research into new treatments.”
People aged 16-30, who are in good health can sign up to the Anthony Nolan register at anthonynolan.org/registerforasia
NatWest is also holding an event to recruit staff to the Anthony Nolan register on 26th September at the RBS offices in Southend.
ENDS
For more information, and to enquire about media interviews, please contact the Anthony Nolan press office using press@anthonynolan.org or 020 7424 1300.
Out of hours, contact the duty press officer on 07881 265 285.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Please note: Anthony Nolan changed its name in 2011 and is no longer known as Anthony Nolan Trust.
About Anthony Nolan
Anthony Nolan is a UK stem cell transplant charity with 50 years of expertise in uniting science and people to push the boundaries of what can be achieved for blood cancer and blood disorder patients.
Its world-leading stem cell register matches potential donors to patients in need of transplants. It carries out cell and gene therapy research to increase transplant success and supports patients through their transplant journeys.
Anthony Nolan helps four people in need of a transplant a day, giving more people a second chance at life. But the charity won’t stop until all patients have access to the treatment they need, so many more survive.
Join Anthony Nolan’s register or support its research. Together, with your help, Anthony Nolan can unlock the answers inside us anthonynolan.org
What is a stem cell transplant?
If a patient has a condition that affects their bone marrow or blood, then a stem cell transplant may be their best chance of survival. Doctors will give new, healthy stem cells to the patient via their bloodstream, where they begin to grow and create healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Key statistics
- Founded by Shirley Nolan in 1974, Anthony Nolan celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
- The charity facilitates around 1,100 stem cell transplants from an unrelated donor every year for patients in the UK and more than 300 for patients abroad. For many, a transplant is their last chance of survival.
- Since its inception Anthony Nolan has facilitated over 26,500 transplants for people around the world.
- Around 90% of donors donate through PBSC (peripheral blood stem cell collection). This is a simple, outpatient procedure. Donors are supported throughout the process by the Anthony Nolan team.
- Currently 16% of the UK Anthony Nolan stem cell register is made up of young men, but they account for more than half of people called upon to donate.
- There is a pressing need to recruit more people from diverse backgrounds to the Anthony Nolan register, to help more patients from minority ethnic backgrounds find the lifesaving matches they need.
- Blood cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer in the UK and the third biggest cancer killer. It accounts for 9% of all new cases of cancer diagnosed in the UK.
- To join the Anthony Nolan register, you must be 16-30 and healthy. Anthony Nolan’s world-leading Research Institute has shown younger donors offer better survival rates for patients.