Alex's story
Alex, 24, needs a blood stem cell donation from a stranger.
He’s appealing for more people, especially people from mixed backgrounds, to join the blood stem cell register to help others who need a donor. He's still looking for a donor for himself, which is made more difficult due to his Greek-English heritage.
As Alex explained, “The register needs to be more diversified. I would encourage everyone to join the register as so many lives can be saved.”
Alex was diagnosed with stage 4b Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 18 years old. After several rounds of chemotherapy which weren't able to put the lymphoma into remission, Alex had his own stem cells harvested, which also unfortunately failed.
His mum was a 50% match so he went through another stem cell transplant but relapsed again. After this, treatment using a trial drug put him in intensive care, from which he had a very long and slow recovery.
After a year without any signs of Hodgkin lymphoma, in September 2021, Alex was given the news he had relapsed again.
After having tried multiple treatment options since April 2016, Alex’s only chance now is to have a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor.
Alex is thoughtful, caring and friendly and loves playing instruments, and listening to and making music. He likes to bake and spend time with friends and family.
When he has been well enough, he enjoys exploring new places, going to festivals and concerts and watching football matches, particularly West Ham. He’s also desperate for a donor, to give him a second chance of life to enjoy all these activities once more.