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In 2017, Robert Morgan was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome – a rare form of blood cancer which stopped his body producing healthy cells.
He was told his only chance of survival was to have a bone marrow transplant.
What is bone marrow?
Bone marrow is the soft spongy tissue found in the centre of most bones.
Blood cancers stop the body’s bone marrow from producing healthy blood cells. Typically, the last treatment option for blood cancer patients following radiotherapy and chemotherapy is to receive a bone marrow transplant.
Now aged 64, Robert, from Aberbargoed, has for the first time met with the complete stranger whose bone marrow donation saved his life.
“It was a shock to hear the big word. The Big C. I went downhill quickly, became tired and struggled to work.” Robert said.
Fortunately, Robert was one of the seven in ten patients across the UK able to find a suitable bone marrow match, thanks to the donation from 30-year-old Tom Heaven from Dinas Powys.
If it wasn’t for Tom, I wouldn’t be here,” Robert said. “I would have missed out on so much, including meeting my great-granddaughter.”
Before meeting Tom to mark the launch of the Welsh Blood Service’s #ChilledOutLifesaver campaign, Robert said: “Without that donor, without Tom, I wouldn’t be standing here now. It is so difficult to describe the thought of ‘I have a chance’.
“I didn’t have a clue what to say. My first thoughts were should I shake his hand, or should I hug and kiss him?”
Tom joined the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry while giving blood and is hoping more people aged between 17 and 30 will also donate.
How to join the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry
There are two ways 17 to 30-year-olds can join the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry, from home by requesting a swab kit at wbmdr.org.uk or calling 0800 252 266.
Or, you can join the registry by giving blood with the Welsh Blood Service.
Tom said: “When I first donated blood, it was an option on a form, and I ticked it and gave samples thinking that the chances of being matched were probably very slim. Two years later, I got the call to say I was potentially a match with a patient.”
“To hear Robert’s side of the story, knowing that I’ve helped save someone’s life and knowing they can obviously spend more time with their family, is a really, really good thing.”
Head of the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry, Emma Cook, said: “The chances of being chosen as the perfect match for a patient anywhere in the world is extremely rare, but the opportunity to find a life-saving match increases as more donors sign up.
“Each year, over 50,000 patients across the globe hope to find a suitable bone marrow match from an unrelated donor.
Emma continued: “You could be the one and only person in the world who could be the match – which is why we need more people to sign up to the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry and increase a patient’s chance of survival.”
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