September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month and in this episode, I chatted with Donor Recruitment Development Officer, Melissa Harvey from ACLT – The African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust. Melissa explained about her role within the organisation and talked through what Sickle Cell disorder is and how it affects those diagnosed with what has become the fastest growing inherited genetic condition in the UK.

We talked about the sorts of symptoms you might expect someone with sickle cell to be experiencing and the importance that education and awareness plays, enabling others to act quickly, should someone be experiencing pain and potentially a life-threatening sickle cell crisis.

We talked about ACLT’s short film, One Drop – parts 1 and 2, which you can find on YouTube and the importance of blood donation.

You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R_fI042zrs - part one and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3WQV4XasCw

We also talked about the possibility of a stem cell transplant being part of the treatment pathway for someone with sickle cell disorder.

It is always a pleasure and a privilege to speak with my guests on this podcast and I hope you find this an inspiring listen.

You can find out about signing up about donating blood, stem cells and organ donation from www.aclt.org Please do it today.

You can follow us on Instagram @magical_match_podcast and do get in touch, if you’d like to join me to share your stem cell story.

In this episode I chatted with Donor Recruitment Manager and Lead Organiser of The Big Cheekender, Natasha Reid and PR and Media Officer, Bronagh Hughes from DKMS.

We talked about their roles within the charity and their big event coming up on 27 and 28 September, the Big Cheekender! We also chatted more generally about Blood Cancer Awareness Month, their current campaign ‘Listen To Your Aunties’ about creating a more diverse stem cell register and the importance of being part of a chain of hope, when you join the register.

I’m very grateful to my guests, Natasha and Bronagh from the DKMS charity and if you are taking part in the Big Cheekender at the weekend, good luck!

You can find out more about The Big Cheekender, Blood Cancer Awareness Month, stem cell donation and becoming a stem cell donor at www.dkms.org.uk.

Thank you for listening.

In this episode I spoke with Andrew Foster about the stem cell journey and subsequent loss of his son, Rycroft at sixteen months, who had a rare inherited condition, called Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome.

At the time we recorded this, it was only nine months after Rycroft had died and as you might imagine, it’s an emotional and heartfelt discussion. Andrew is a passionate campaigner for change and we talked about the importance of education and the opportunity to drive up the numbers of people of the stem cell register in the UK and beyond. For listeners who are coming to terms with loss or who are in early stages of grief, a great resource for those needing support is www.thegoodgrieftrust.org

You can find out more about Rycroft’s story at www.rycroftforever.com

It's always a privilege to speak to my guests and hear their inspiring stories. Since recording, Andrew and his wife, Catherine have welcomed a baby girl to their family, Seraphina.

Andrew has also been campaigning tirelessly for change through the family’s campaign, Rycroft Forever; and thanks to Andrew, DKMS are currently working closely with the London Broncos to encourage young Rugby teams to sign up to the stem cell register.