DKMS UK patient wing walks to find lifesaving donors
The wing walk, which took place at Damyns Hall Aerodrome in Essex, brought together three people with a personal connection to blood cancer. The aim was to highlight Peter’s search for a lifesaving stem cell donor, and to shine a light on Blood Cancer Awareness Month, which takes place each September in the UK.
'You’ve Got it in You'
Our theme for this year’s awareness month is 'You’ve Got it in You'. The initiative urges people between the age of 16-55 to make a difference by taking the first step to becoming a stem cell donor and a potential lifesaver.
Pete said: “I’ve been searching for a match for four years now. If we can get more people to register with DKMS UK, it will help give me and other blood cancer patients a second chance of life.
"I haven’t felt this alive for years and to have done it alongside Sally, Lisa, and Jo Hill (who shaved her beautiful hair for DKMS UK) made it all the more fun.”
Relieved to be back on the ground
DKMS supporter Sally Hurman said: “I feel relieved to be down, but I knew I’d have a safe landing. But there are people with blood cancer and blood disorders who desperately need a blood stem cell donor to survive, and they don’t have that guarantee that things will be fine. I want to thank everyone for their support and donations.”
Former leukaemia patient Lisa Jackson said: “I was so scared beforehand because it was way out of my comfort zone. But I knew deep down, as a former blood cancer patient, that I had gone through so many scarier things before. Hopefully, I have shown people that if I can do this, then they can register to be a potential lifesaver.”
The trio became a quartet when Jo Hill, the mother of former patient Finn, bravely shaved her head for us. Incredibly, the ‘Fab Four’ managed to raise a fantastic £10,774 and counting.
Jonathan Pearce, Chief Executive, DKMS, said: “We need more people to come forward to become stem cell donors. We have witnessed a 50% decrease in registrations since the pandemic took hold. The more people we have on the Register, the more chance there is that a donor on the Register could be that potential lifesaver for someone with blood cancer.
How you can help
Register today
If you are between the ages of 16 and 55 and in good general health, you can join the stem cell register today and potentially become a lifesaving match for a patient in need of a stem cell transplant.
Donate and save a life
You can give money to support our mission today. It costs us £40 to register just one potential stem cell donor, so any donation, no matter the size, can make a huge difference and help to give blood cancer patients a second chance of life.
While many of our supporters give money to cover the cost their own registration or someone else's, we understand that not everyone is in a position to do so. You can still meaningfully support our mission by sharing our social media posts or raising awareness in your circles or local community.
