Zak Riley, a 21-year-old from Mansfield, donated his stem cells to save someone's life, fulfilling his wish to help others. His experience highlights the importance of joining stem cell registries like Anthony Nolan.
A 21-year-old man from Mansfield has saved someone's life by donating his stem cells after years on the register. Zak Riley, formerly of Carlton, joined the Anthony Nolan register when he was a teenager and was unsure if he would ever be a match, as most people on the stem cell register are never called upon. The Anthony Nolan register is the world's first bone marrow register, and it was created in 1974 by Shirley Nolan when her son needed a bone marrow donor but there was no system in place.
Although Anthony never found a match, the charity has since helped thousands of people and, currently, more than 20,700 people across Nottinghamshire have signed up. On January 5, 2024, Mr Riley was able to save someone's life and described it as 'a great feeling knowing that I have done that for someone', saying he's 'given somebody a second chance of life'. 'I would like to think it's something most people would do if they could,' said a modest Mr Riley. Stem cell transplants are treatments needed for patients with blood cancers, such as acute myeloid leukaemia and blood disorders like aplastic anaemia. The process replaces damaged or diseased cells with healthy ones and gives the patient a new immune system. Mr Riley joined the register in 2020, saying he wanted to do more to help people whilst he knww about it, explaining organ donation was primarily done after people die. Mr Riley recalled a phone call from the charity two years later, saying he felt 'buzzing' when told he was a potential match. 'It was my 20th birthday when I got a call saying 'you are a potential match, we need to do some blood tests'. They did the tests and I was a match.' However, despite being a match there were some delays. 'It got postponed and then I was contacted again in December 2023 and then donated in January of this year,' said Mr Riley. In the four days prior donors are sent a course of injections to help their body prepar
STEM CELL DONATION ANTHONY NOLAN BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT BLOOD CANCER ORGAN DONATION
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