Harkness Roses partnership
Remembering Robert with the Stems of Hope rose
As we launch our budding fundraising partnership with Harkness Roses, and the new Stems of Hope rose, Chairman, Philip Harkness, shares his family’s very personal connection with stem cell donation.
In 1990, Philip and his brother Robert took over running the family business. Founded in 1879, Harkness Roses is the oldest rose breeder and grower in the UK today, as well as the winner of more than 25 Chelsea Flower Show gold medals.
Fast forward to 2011, the story behind their stunning new Stems of Hope rose – sales of which will raise vital funds for DKMS - begins when Robert, aged 60, is diagnosed with blood cancer.
Finding a stem cell match
“He was aware that it was going to be a tough journey,” recalls Philip. “But he was completely at peace with the situation and ready and willing to do all he could.”
Philip and their sister were tested as possible stem cell donors for Robert, and Philip was found to be a match. Just before Christmas 2011, he donated his stem cells for his brother via PBSC – a simple, non-surgical procedure, similar to donating blood platelets.
“It was so astoundingly easy,” says Philip. “On donation day, you just go and sit for a few hours, linked to a machine that filters them out of your blood. You have a tube taking blood out of one arm, putting it back in the other. The effort in doing it is absolutely insignificant, but the potential benefit is absolutely life-changing for the person who receives your stem cells.
“After the donation, Robert had just over five months of much better quality of life than he’d had in the previous months. Those months gave him time for an awful lot of things that he wanted to do, and of life that he enjoyed. It was undoubtedly positive.”
Encouraging potential lifesavers
Sadly, Robert passed away in 2021 aged 61, but Philip remains a strong advocate for joining the stem cell donor register and potentially becoming a donor like him, if matched with someone needing a transplant.
“If you're on the register, the likelihood of you being called is tiny,” he explains. “But that one new person out there who signs up might just be a match for someone in need. You just have to imagine there's a family, and a member of that family is ill, and your half a day, at low inconvenience to you, can change that entire family's future. There can be no better way of spending that half day.”
Stems of Hope
Philip and Harkness Roses have generously created the beautiful, red Stems of Hope rose to support DKMS UK and our work toward ensuring that everyone who needs a stem cell transplant has equal access to one.
For each Stems of Hope rose sold, £5 will be donated to DKMS.
"The word 'hope' will always resonate with me,” concludes Philip. “For me, we are a society and a community, and we are all one person in lots of ways. It's not very often you get the chance to give hope and completely change, improve, extend, or save that person’s life.”
To purchase a Stems of Hope rose, visit their website.