Driving instructor Michael Kyriacos Efstratiou was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) just before Christmas and told that he urgently needs a stem cell transplant.
The 64-year-old from Winchmore Hill, North London was given the rare blood cancer diagnosis in mid-December and told that there were no treatment options other than a stem cell transplant from a matching donor.
Since then, his daughter Ellianna Efstratiou, 35 has been working with stem cell transplant charity Anthony Nolan to raise awareness of their situation and encourage people to join the register and potentially save a life.
“It was a big shock to my dad, it’s made him quite anxious, especially when the doctor said he needs a donor,” Ellianna said.
“It's sort of like a waiting game. We feel a lot of it now is on us and it's making us want to drive this even more. It's not just helping your own family; you're helping others who need a match. There are so many people in the community and across the world that need this support,” she added.
Michael and his family, who are of Greek Cypriot heritage, are encouraging people in the British Cypriot diaspora and beyond to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register. They hope that with more potential donors on the register, more blood cancer and blood disorder patients will be able to find a lifesaving match.
People from different parts of the world can have a different chance of finding a matching unrelated donor. This is because you can be more likely to have a rare tissue type if your ancestry is from particular regions of the world.
“By sharing my story, I want to raise awareness and it's not just about finding a match for me. The more people there are on the register, the more others could be helped in the future,” Michael added.
Rowena Bentley, Head of Programme and Community Recruitment at Anthony Nolan, said: “Blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK and more than 16,000 people lose their lives to it every year. But many of us won’t have heard of stem cell transplants as a treatment. That’s why it’s vital that people like Michael share their story, so we can continue to raise awareness of stem cell donation, encourage more people to join the register, and ultimately save more lives.
“Anthony Nolan research shows that younger stem cell donors give patients the best chance of survival, that’s why we’re calling on healthy 16–30-year-olds to join the register. The more matches we can make, the more lives we can save.
“If you can’t join the register, please think about supporting Anthony Nolan financially. Your contribution will mean we can support families before, during, and after transplant, and continue our pioneering research into saving lives through stem cells.”
Sign up online: Anthonynolan.org/MichaelsStemCellDrive
People who are unable to join the Anthony Nolan register, or are aged 31 and over, can support the charity’s work financially. It costs Anthony Nolan £40 to add each new potential lifesaver to the register which covers recruiting a donor, collecting their sample, and analysing it to find out their tissue type.
In addition to growing and managing the world’s first stem cell register Anthony Nolan also carries out innovative research and provides information and support to stem cell transplant patients and their families.
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.
Stem cells hold enormous potential and have the power to help people with blood cancers and blood disorders. This potential inspires everything Anthony Nolan does. Driven by patients, backed by stem cell donors, and powered by science, the charity won’t stop until the lifesaving potential of the cells inside us all has been uncovered.
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
- Since it was founded by Shirley Nolan in 1974, Anthony Nolan has facilitated over 26,500 transplants for people around the world.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited blood disorders that affect the red blood cells in your body.
- It mostly affects people from African and Caribbean backgrounds and can be diagnosed soon after birth.
- People with SCD produce red blood cells in the shape of a ‘sickle’. These unhealthy cells stick together and get stuck in blood vessels, blocking the flow of healthy blood cells, which can cause various health complications and acute pain episodes
- 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.