TV star urges people to help save the life of 12-year-old Arya

Priya, first began working with DKMS last year when she supported an appeal calling for strangers to potentially give Arya a second chance of life.

Aplastic anaemia

Last May, following initial complaints to dad Geraint and mum Brundha of stomach pains, Arya was diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disorder, aplastic anaemia. The condition occurs when bone marrow and stem cells do not produce enough blood cells.

Around 30 to 40 children are diagnosed with the disease each year. Doctors told Arya’s parents that the best chance of survival for their only child would be through a blood stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor.

International search

The family turned to DKMS and launched a global appeal in November 2020. Over 7,000 Brits, including Priya, were inspired to take the first steps to become a lifesaver-in-waiting when they ordered a free home swab kit from the charity.

But Priya went one step further. By swabbing the inside of her cheeks and returning the kit to DKMS through their Freepost envelope, she is now fully registered on the UK’s aligned stem cell registry. The star made a video to thank everyone for their support – including the other 4,302 people who did the same thing as her.

A huge thank you

Priya said: “I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you who have either donated, or signed up onto the register…you guys are amazing, so thank you so much.”

However, 43% (3,326) of the 7,628 swab kits requested remain unreturned to DKMS, and with time running out for Arya, her unrelated match might still be somewhere out there.

Priya added: “If you have signed up, and you have received your swab kit, but for whatever reason haven’t managed to send it back, please do at your earliest convenience. You’ve come this far, so let’s complete the process, and hopefully, together we can find a match for Arya and many others like her.”

How you can help

If you are age 17-55 and in good general health, you can support Arya and the other 2,000 people in need of a lifesaving transplant by registering online for your home swab kit. You’ll join a group of over 812,000 other potential lifesavers already registered to help give someone a second chance of life.

It costs £40 to register one potential blood stem cell donor. DKMS relies on monetary donations to help cover this cost. Whilst the NHS is very supportive, it falls to charities like ours to reach out and recruit those potential lifesavers.