HOW YOU CAN HELP

TO JOIN the stem cell donor register, you need to be aged 16 to 30, weigh more than 7 st 12 lb and be in good health.

Donors are sent a cheek swab test to record their DNA, and they remain on the register until they turn 60. The majority donate in a similar way to giving blood, says Alex Cupit, from the charity Anthony Nolan.

‘A nurse comes to their home or workplace to give an injection of granulocyte colonystimulating factor once a day for four days before the donation. This encourages the bone marrow to release stem cells. It can make you feel achy, but passes within a week or two.’

The donation is taken at one of the charity’s centres. ‘Blood is taken from the arm, passed through a machine which takes the stem cells and the remaining blood goes back into the other arm,’ says Alex Cupit.