In April, Talia Tosun, a talented young data wizard working at iTech in London, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. She has been off work ever since, undergoing gruelling chemotherapy.
Sadly, at the end of August Talia was told that the chemotherapy had been ineffective and she now urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. A match with Talia’s blood type would mean the chance for her to receive lifesaving stem cell treatment.
Unfortunately, her sister isn’t a match, nor is anybody currently on the Anthony Nolan donor register. Her only chance is for a new donor to come forward.
Talia is of Turkish Cypriot descent and the best prospects for a possible match would be from someone of the same or similar ethnicity.
Could you be a match for Talia?
- You would ideally be aged between 16-30
- Be in good health
- Be of Turkish Cypriot, Greek Cypriot, Turkish or Middle Eastern origin
- And be living in the UK
It’s really easy to give a swab to Anthony Nolan – the UK’s registered charity combatting blood cancer. Its donor registry is part of an aligned national database, helping to quickly match donors with patients across Britain.
A painless swab, taken from your cheek, is all that’s needed. The charity will let you know if you’re a match, and then verify your health and whether you want to proceed.
90% of donors have their stem cells collected through a peripheral blood stem cell process, with the remainder taken via the bone marrow itself.
Swab packs can be sent to your home, or, like Talia’s employer iTech, the charity can come to you and take samples from multiple people at once.
It’s often the actions of a complete stranger that can offer Talia and other sufferers of leukaemia a lifeline to beat this cancer and make a return to full health.
If you’ve never registered your blood, please do so now. It’s also important to help spread awareness not just among Turks and Cypriots, but across all black, Asian and other ethnic minority groups about the need for donors, as these communities are currently seriously under-represented on the national register.
Click here to help Talia.
