Post by Teagwen Cameron

This week I travelled to London to donate my stem cells via peripheral blood stem cell donation. Earlier in the year, Anthony Nolan notified me that I was a match for someone in need of a stem cell transplant. Coincidentally, I got this news whilst trying to revise for my Molecular Oncology module! The donation process was incredibly well-organised and really interesting. Before the actual donation, I self-administered G-CSF injections at home over four days to stimulate stem cell production. Following that, I spent two days connected to an apheresis machine for four hours each time, which filtered and collected stem cells from my blood while returning the red blood cells to my body. Blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, and for many patients, a stem cell transplant can be life-changing. Anthony Nolan are working hard to grow their register, currently at around 900,000 people, with the goal of reaching 1 million soon. If you're aged between 16 and 30, I encourage you to consider joining the register. You can find more information here - https://lnkd.in/e-rH9e6U. If joining the register isn't an option for you, there are still many ways to support Anthony Nolan’s incredible work. Learn more about how you can help here - https://lnkd.in/eEf_DAg9.