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.

In this episode, recorded at the end of last year, I chatted with Liam Rooney, Patient and Families Manager and Car T Cell Therapy Clinical Nurse Specialist, Emily John, both from Anthony Nolan.

We discussed the important roles they play within Anthony Nolan and the important work AN does with and for families in providing support, not just for the patient, but also the families and friends who are supporting the patient going through cancer or a blood disorder.

We discussed Car T Cell therapy, what it is, why and when it is used and the difference between Car T cell therapy and chemotherapy in terms of treatment for cancer and blood disorders.

Finally, we discussed a project Anthony Nolan has been focusing on around bereavement and grief and the impact grief has on the families and friends left behind and how the charity hopes to be able to offer more services to families who have lost loved ones on the pathway to stem cell transplant or car T cell therapy.

I’m so grateful, as always to my guests for their time, lively and informative discussion and compassionate conversation around some difficult and complex topics.

If you are interested in reaching out to Anthony Nolan for any help, guidance or assistance, you can contact them on 0303 303 0303 or, particularly if you are interested in speaking to someone around the grief and bereavement project, please email involve@anthonynolan.org

You can find out more about the charity, getting involved and signing up to the stem cell register here at www.anthonynolan.org

In this episode I spoke with Charis Ober - Executive Director and Founder of the Save the Cord Foundation based in Tucson, Arizona.

We chatted about the history of the Foundation, the importance of cord blood and all the possibilities for saving a life, including through regenerative medicine and stem cell transplants.

We also heard about the brand new educational programme, Cord Blood in the Classroom, being launched on World Cord Blood Day on 15 November 2024. I hope you enjoy the listen.

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.

Useful links are below:

https://www.savethecordfoundation.org/

https://www.nextgenerationcordblood.org/

https://www.worldcordbloodday.org/

In this episode, I chatted with Yaser Martini, Founder of the Team Margot Foundation. Yaser’s daughter, Margot was just a few months old, when she was diagnosed with blood cancer and needed a stem cell transplant. Due to her mixed heritage, opportunities to find a donor match were slim, so Team Margot was set up and focused on blood, stem cell and organ donation for nine years, raising thousands of pounds and helping many families dealing with a similar diagnosis.

We chatted about Margot’s story and legacy, the impact on families through the process of finding a donor match and dealing with the reality of cancer. We also talked about the importance of stem cell, blood and organ donation and touched on the All Party Parliamentary Group he has been involved with for change. Finally, Yaser spoke candidly about the winding down of Team Margot and his devotion to campaigning and advocacy.

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. To find out more about the work Team Margot Foundation has achieved over nine years, please take a look at www.teammargot.com

In this episode, I chatted with Beverley de Gale and Orin Lewis, parents of Daniel de Gale, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of six, back in 1993 and was the first black individual in the UK to receive a stem cell transplant six years later.

We talked about Daniel’s story and the difficulties they faced as a family in finding him a donor match and we chatted about the need for a diverse stem cell register and for people of all ethnicities to sign up if they can.

Our conversation took place earlier this summer and as Sickle Cell Awareness Month was in September, we also spoke about Sickle Cell Disorder and the impact that has on families needing urgent treatment.

Bev and Orin started the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust after realising that their son, Daniel’s chances of finding a donor match were one in a quarter of a million. The work the ACLT do is incredible. I hope you enjoy the listen.

You can find out more about the work the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust do and Daniel’s story at www.aclt.org

It is always such a huge privilege to be able to speak with my guests and share their stories. I hope you find this conversation both interesting and inspiring.

Thank you for listening.

In this episode, I talked with Martine Schuit van Reissen again, from the World Marrow Donor Association, based in the Netherlands. I also spoke with Dr Warren Fingrut, Haematologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Jeff and Susan Haertling from Marrow Mates in Florida. Jeff is a donor, himself and is Founder of Marrow Mates and Susan works as the Director of Genetic Genealogy and runs the EFDS Program.

We began the episode learning about the origins of World Marrow Donor Day and how it is celebrated. Dr Fingrut then chatted about his work as a Haematologist and also the work he does with the Stem Cell Club, which he set up to raise awareness and recruit donors to the register. Jeff is a donor himself and told us about his personal and very moving donor story. His wife, Susan, then explained her work creating the Extending Family Donor Search initiative. Marrow Mates’ hopes to expand the diversity of existing donor registries to enable equal outcomes for all blood disease patients in need of a stem cell transplant.

I’m very grateful to my guests today for their valuable insight and knowledge in the important topic of stem cell donation at the core of all they do. I hope you enjoy the World Marrow Donor Day celebrations and if you’re a donor, a heartfelt thank you on behalf of the families who you help. I hope this episode has inspired you to get involved and maybe sign up to the stem cell register, you could be someone’s magical match.

You can find out more about World Marrow Donor Day and our guests' work through these links, here:

https://worldmarrowdonorday.org/

https://wmda.info/

https://stemcellclub.ca/

https://www.marrowmates.org/