Calls for people from BAME backgrounds in the South West to join stem cell donor register
Donors from minority ethnic backgrounds make up just 13.1% of the UK stem cell register
Last updated 21st Oct 2020
People in the South West who are from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Backgrounds (BAME) are being urged to sign up to donate their blood, organs and stem cells.
In the UK, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer every 20 minutes and the register of stem cell donors - who are vitally needed to save peoples lives - does not currently meet the demand.
Only 1 in 3 patients will find a donor match within their family and so every year over 2,000 people in the UK are left searching for a matching blood stem cell donor each year.
The outlook for someone from a BAME background is even more stark. They face much lower survival odds due to the lack of donor diversity.
Those who are diagnosed with blood cancer face a 20% chance of finding a possible stem cell donor match compared to 69% of those from northern European backgrounds.
That's why blood cancer charity DKMS is area appealing for people from the BAME community to sign up to become a stem cell and organ donor.
It's after the number of registered donors has declined further during the coronavirus pandemic.
Only 2% of stem cell registrations with DKMS came from black people during lockdown, falling by 20% compared to the same time the previous year.
Vaughn's Story
34-year-old father-of-two Vaughn Scott, from Bristol, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia whilst deployed abroad serving for The Royal Navy.
He was flown home immediately after receiving his diagnosis.
Vaughn said: "Because I was overseas I immediately started beginning to think about family because it was something I'd never experienced before.
"I had a lot of chest pains and was experiencing a lot of fatigue. It was extremely worrying. I took a couple of weeks but then I finally got the diagnosis."
Vaughn was engaged to his wife when he received his diagnosis, so they decided to bring forward the wedding.
He continued: "We set the wedding as a sort of goal for when I came out of treatment so it was definitely worth the wait."
Thankfully, Vaughn's life was saved by a complete stranger after they were found to me a stem cell match.
He's now able to to enjoy his life with his family and is grateful to be given a second chance.
"I think there needs to be a big drive in educating BAME people about how important it is to become a donor though", Vaugh added.
"I think there's a cultural issue but what people need to think about is their family because it can happen to anyone.
"It wasn't until I was in hospital that I realised how rampant the disease was which is why it needs to be talked about with family and also for more campaigning to be done".