A man from north London who signed up to be a stem cell donor last year said he was initially hesitant but found the process “easy”.<\/p>\n
Alfred Mureithi, 24, from Islington, is one of 29,000 people registered to be a stem cell donor – the highest number in three decades, according to the NHS Stem Cell Donor Registry.<\/p>\n
However, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said more donors are needed, particularly those from ethnic minorities. <\/p>\n
Stem cell donations can help people with blood cancers, blood disorders, immune deficiencies and genetic disorders when their bone marrow stops working properly or cannot produce healthy blood cells.<\/p>\n
Mureithi said he got a call about a match not long after signing up to be a donor.<\/p>\n
“It was a bit of a surprise, so soon, but I was excited,” he said, adding that he had to have injections ahead of his donation which came with some side effects.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t sleep great and had some aches but just for a couple of days.<\/p>\n
“As soon as I donated I felt better.”<\/p>\n
The donation itself, he said, was “a bit like a blood donation but a needle in each arm and it took a few hours”.<\/p>\n
“I sat back, relaxed and let the staff do their thing \u2013 it was really easy,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mureithi was connected to an apheresis machine, a specialised medical device that draws blood from a donor, separates the stem cells from their blood and returns the remaining blood to their body.<\/p>\n
Guy Parkes, from NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “It is fantastic to see the continued growth of the NHS Stem Cell Donor Registry.<\/p>\n
“There is more to do, particularly to increase the diversity of the registry. We want every patient who needs a stem cell transplant to have the best possible chance of finding a match.”<\/p>\n
Explaining his decision to donate, Mureithi said: “I [didn’t] have a reason not to.”<\/p>\n
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds<\/a> and follow BBC London on Facebook, external<\/a>, X, external<\/a> and Instagram, external<\/a>. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk, external<\/a><\/p>\n