Charlie's story
Seventeen-year-old Charlie is an active young man. He is a keen boxer and loves music and fast cars.
After feeling very tired, forgetful and having a low mood, he went to his GP for some blood tests. Later the same day Charlie was admitted to hospital, where he was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a serious blood disorder.
Looking for an unrelated donor
Charlie is receiving regular blood and platelet transfusions but will need chemotherapy and a blood stem cell transplant in order to fully recover. His two brothers, Harry and Frankie, were tested, but, sadly, weren’t a match for Charlie. So he now needs to look for an unrelated donor.
How you can help
Charlie is of mixed English and Asian heritage, which makes finding him a match even more challenging. A match is most likely to be found in someone with a similar ethnicity; the current pool of potential donors from minority or mixed-ethnic communities is relatively small.
Charlie's family are urging anyone between the ages of 17 and 55 to join the stem cell register.