London couple beat odds as both called to donate stem cells

A married couple have beaten the odds by both being called to become stem cell donors and offer a lifeline to two different cancer patients.

Nirav and Kanan Chokshi were called separately to donate stem cells to adult leukaemia patients in need of potentially life-saving transplants.

People signed up to the NHS Stem Cell Donor Registry have a one in 2,000 chance of being called to donate.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said there was a one in four million chance that a married couple would both be called up to donate.

Mr Chokshi signed up to become a stem cell donor in 2016 and donated in 2018.

After seeing his experience, his wife signed up and donated in 2024.

The couple were bon in India and now live in Hounslow, west London, with their two children, Shiven, 15, and Siya, 11.

They are now calling on other people of Asian heritage to sign up to the registry.

Mr Chokshi, a mechanical engineer, said: "I think there is a lot of fear within our community that stem cell donation is going to be painful or difficult or cause them to become unwell, but from my experience, I can say it is not.

"It's a short moment of discomfort to save or improve somebody's life - you could be the only chance they have and what better feeling is there than knowing you've made such a huge difference to not only the recipient, but their friends and family too?"

The 43-year-old added: "Kanan and I hope to keep spreading the word and getting more and more people to sign up - you could be the perfect match that somebody needs."

Mrs Chokshi, a 44-year-old school lunchtime supervisor, added: "When Nirav said he had been selected as a match for somebody and would be donating his stem cells, I was scared - I thought it would be painful and he would be sick - but the whole experience was nothing like I expected.

"It was such a simple process for something that can make such a huge difference to somebody's life, so when Nirav suggested I sign up too, I did.

"I didn't realise that us both donating was a one in four million occasion and I feel really proud of us both. We encourage everybody to sign up to the register, but especially those of south Asian heritage."

For a successful stem cell transplant, both donor and recipient need matching tissue types - known as HLA type - and patients are most likely to match with donors of a similar ethnic heritage.

NHSBT said it can be significantly more difficult to find a suitable match for patients of Asian, black and mixed ethnicity backgrounds due to the lack of suitable potential donors on the register.

NHSBT's head of stem cell donation and transplantation, Guy Parkes, said: "We currently provide 200 to 300 donations every year, but in order to find the perfect, potentially lifesaving transplant for as many people as possible, we need more people of Asian or black heritage and from mixed ethnic backgrounds to join the register - your stem cells could help save a life."

• For more information visit www.blood.co.uk/stemcells

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