"Someone, somewhere has a little part of you with them forever"

Jade was inspired to register with DKMS after watching a friend's mum go through cancer. When she did her cheek swabs, she hardly expected to find herself donating blood stem cells just a few years later.

“When I got the call about two years after registering, it was such a surprising moment. You sign up with the notion that there’s a high chance you’ll never get that call. But someone, somewhere was identical to me in some way!

“On the days leading up to the donation I had my injections, which in all honesty didn’t make me feel great. At this point though, with the donation so close, you just keep reminding yourself of why you are doing it.

“Donation day arrived and I was very nervous. The DKMS staff were amazing though and put me at ease the whole time. It’s absolutely mind-blowing how it all works, and I was in utter awe of the process.

A few million stem cells

“Six hours later, I’m down a few million stem cells, a bag of plasma and I’m free to leave with the best feeling ever. Knowing that little bag of goodness is potentially going to save someone’s life who you’ve never met is incredibly hard to describe until you do it. It’s the most surreal feeling, so to anyone thinking about it - do it!

“I’m hoping I get to someday meet the recipient. But if not, it’s amazing that someone, somewhere has a little part of you with them forever, and that part of you helped their future become brighter.”