'Cancer doesn't discriminate'- Newry stem cell donor urges people to register
It follows a spike in people signing up after hearing the story of 14-year-old Daniel Greer
Last updated 5th Jul 2022
A Newry man who recently became a stem cell donor has urged the public to continue to register and help save the lives of others.
Sean Brady signed up the donor register through the Anthony Nolan Trust 12 years ago. The Trust, along with DKMS, helps to find matches for people across the world that are in need of stem cell treatment.
Sean got the call in March to say a match had been found and recently travelled to London to donate.
It came as the family of a fellow Newry resident - 14-year-old Daniel Greer - made an impassioned plea for people to help find a match for their son who was recently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.
The appeal saw a huge spike in registrations for the people of Northern Ireland, with almost 9,000 signing up inside the fortnight. The average number in that time frame is between 5 and 10.
Sean's spoken out in the hope that even more will hear his - and Daniel's story - and apply to get on the register.
"Seeing the story of Daniel over the last couple of weeks, seeing the picture of him and listening to his Mum Anne speak, it would break anybody's heart," says Sean, 35.
"The urgency is paramount. They need to do it today. If anyone is thinking about signing up, sign up today and think about why you're signing up.
"My stem cells aren't special. They're no more special than anyone else's. But they are special for that one person and that's the difference. You can make an impact on someone else's life and that of their family.
"We need to have a ripple affect and anyone who hears this story needs to know that they can do some good.
"There have been 9,000 people from Northern Ireland who have signed up in the last week or two. We need one match for Daniel and we hope he gets it. There are also another possible 8,999 people who could find their match and that's why we need everybody signing onto this register," he added.
"You could help someone from anywhere across the world.
Sean added that the process was simple and pain-free and he wants to make that clear to anyone still hesitant about registering to become a potential donor.
"Cancer doesn't discriminate. It doesn't care what age you are, what race you are or what gender you are. Everybody needs everybody else's help and I was just lucky that I was able to do that," he says.
"Any kind of sacrifice or contribution I was making is absolutely miniscule in terms of what someone else it going through. When it came to being asked if you could help give someone potentially a second chance at life, it was an easy question to answer."
To register as a potential donor, go to www.dkms.org.uk to sign up.
Read More:
'Mummy, am I going to die?' - Newry family urge people to sign up to Stem Cell register