Tag Archives: donor registration

‘In Their Shoes’ Our September challenge

August 26, 2020News & updatesawareness, blood cancer, donor registration, Fundraising, lifesaversJulie Child

runner — Take 122,314 steps this September and become a lifesaver

We are asking people to step forward this Blood Cancer Awareness Month this September by taking 122,314 steps ‘In their Shoes’ to create awareness of the issues surrounding stem cell donation in minority ethnic groups, as well as raising funds for Race Against Blood Cancer so that we can continue our vital work.

Why am I being asked to do 122,314 steps?

There are currently 122,314 potential donors from a minority ethnic group on the UK register, making up a mere 15% of the total number of donors available. Currently only 1 in 5 blood cancer patients from a Black, Asian, mixed-heritage or minority ethnic background will find a matching stem cell donor to give them a second chance at life.

How long does the challenge last for? Is there a daily step commitment?

You have the whole month of September to complete the challenge. As long as the total number of steps ‘In their Shoes’ are reached within that time, it doesn’t matter how you split them. You can run, walk, hop or dance – it’s totally up to you how you take them.

Why September?

Blood Cancer Awareness Month is an international focus to raise awareness of blood cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Charities and health organisations across the globe use this time to raise awareness of the symptoms of disease, issues affecting patients and potential treatments available. We are using this time to raise awareness of the lack of ethnic diversity on the UK stem cell register; just 20% of patients from BAME backgrounds find a best match donor, while 69% of those from white, northern European backgrounds do.

How do I get involved?

Contact the team, either through social media messaging or by emailing us

How do I set up a sponsorship page?

There are two ways you can do this:

Set up a facebook fundraiser – On our facebook page, click on Fundraisers in the top menu, then ‘Create a Fundraiser’. It’s as simple as that!
Create a Virgin Money Giving page – visit www.virginmoneygiving.com and click on ‘Start fundraising’. The site will talk you through the process.

If you have any queries about setting up your page, please contact us. Don’t forget to remind sponsors of the importance of gift-aiding their donation should they be eligible.

What’s in it for me?

Apart from the incredible awareness raising work that you’ll undertake just by doing your challenge, we will provide all registered participants with one of our ever-so-fancy ‘In their Shoes’ t shirts upon completion of the virtual event.

How do I join the donor register?

You’ll find information on how you can do this here

Any questions?

Email us here

Tagged under - August 26, 2020News & updatesawareness, blood cancer, donor registration, Fundraising, lifesaversJulie Child

Record London donor drive

May 17, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updates, Stem Cell Donationblood cancer, donor, donor drive, donor registration, London, Race Against Blood Cancer, saving lives, stem cell donorJulie Child

This week saw the team do their first donor drive with Starcom, who are based in the BBC Televison centre in White City London.

The team set up for two days due to the number of occupants in the building and it was well worth it. There was a steady flow of people over the course of the event and everyone there was helpful and friendly.

In the end they managed to sign up a whopping 266 people!!!!! This is an incredible number and couldnt have been acheived without all the help we received. A massive thank you to Amy Kean and Lorena Di Lello for organising the event, Jayde Jarret, Ellis Parsons, Sarah Robson, Neville, Darren and Alex for helping out over the course of the two days. A special thank you to Emily Carroll from Homeslice for providing us with food over the two days and everyone who came down to sign up and continues to raise awareness.

Two of the Starcom team that signed up at the event

Tagged under - May 17, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updates, Stem Cell Donationblood cancer, donor, donor drive, donor registration, London, Race Against Blood Cancer, saving lives, stem cell donorJulie Child

URGENT – Can you help Ihsan find a donor?

April 30, 2019Donor Drive, Events, Patient Appeal, Patient Story, Stem Cell Donationdonor registration, drive, events, Ihsan Khan, Midlands, patient appeal, saving lives, stem cell donor, upcoming eventsJulie Child

Six year old Ihsan Khan, from the Telford area, urgently needs a stem cell/bone marrow match to help treat his Aplastic Anaemia.

We are working with Ihsan’s family to recruit potential donors at events being held this week. These being:

Friday 3 May 2019 4.30-7.30pm
Jamia Masjid Ghousia, Regent Street, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1PF

Saturday 4 May 2019 – 12-3pm
Telford Central Mosque 88-90 King Street, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1NZ

If you are unable to get to either event but still want to sign up, you can do so here. Please help: even if you aren’t a match for Ihsan, you could be for one of the other 2,000 people in the UK currently waiting for a match.

Photo shows Ihsan Khan and his Mum Assia

Tagged under - April 30, 2019Donor Drive, Events, Patient Appeal, Patient Story, Stem Cell Donationdonor registration, drive, events, Ihsan Khan, Midlands, patient appeal, saving lives, stem cell donor, upcoming eventsJulie Child

Our newest volunteer – Rebecca Richards

April 18, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updates, Stem Cell Donation, Thank you, Volunteeringdonor drive, donor registration, events, Midlands, saving lives, volunteeringJulie Child

Our grateful thanks to Rebecca Richards – the newest member of our volunteering team -who ran her first two donor drives for us last week. Her first took place at Bloor Homes (Midlands branch) where she signed up 20 potential stem cell donors and she then registered a further 20 at Sunday’s UK Triathlon Events Birmingham Run. Many thanks to Rebecca for a great week of sign ups, those who allowed us to host our donor drives and to all those potential lifesavers who registered with us.

We would also like to show our appreciation to Amie, James, Jen and Afy for volunteering their time last week and helping to help raise awareness of the work we do. Thank you everyone!

If you’d like to find out more about volunteering for the charity and running your own donor drives on our behalf, please contact us.

Tagged under - April 18, 2019Donor Drive, Events, News & updates, Stem Cell Donation, Thank you, Volunteeringdonor drive, donor registration, events, Midlands, saving lives, volunteeringJulie Child

Celebrating our life-saving impact

March 15, 2019Celebration, Donor Drive, Impact, News & updates, Thank youblood cancer, celebration, Diversity, donation, donor, donor registration, impact, stem cell donor, successJulie Child

Race Against Blood Cancer is delighted to confirm that twelve potential stem cell donors recruited by the charity have now gone on to give transplants to patients affected by blood cancer, giving their recipients a second chance at life!

In the four years since the charity’s inception, our small team have inspired more than 6400 people to sign up as potential donors, giving hope to blood cancer patients in the UK and beyond. Not only did we have twelve donors go on to donate their stem cells, a quarter of these were people from a BAME background, which is significantly higher than the national average.

We would like to say a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone that has registered with us and to all of our registration partners – because of your support, many lives have now been saved.

If you still haven’t registered to become a potential life-saver, you can do so by clicking here.

Tagged under - March 15, 2019Celebration, Donor Drive, Impact, News & updates, Thank youblood cancer, celebration, Diversity, donation, donor, donor registration, impact, stem cell donor, successJulie Child

5-year-old Kaiya Petal in urgent need of a lifesaving stem cell match

June 8, 2018Donor Drive, Patient Appeal, Patient Story, Recruitment#match4kaiya, blood cancer, donor registration, patient appeal, stem cell donorRace Against Blood Cancer

Kaiya Petal, who was diagnosed with Leukaemia earlier this year, is desperately trying to find a blood stem cell match outside of the family to give her the best chance of survival.

The family of Kaiya are appealing to members of the Asian community across the Warwick district to get tested to see if they could be a match for their 5-year-old daughter.

Kaiya’s aunt said “All focus is on getting that match not just for Kaiya but for so many other people who might need it in the future. The campaign has gotten so big and we are so incredibly grateful to have the support.”

If you live in the area there is a donor drive being held in Leamington which will take place on Sunday 10th June at the Community Centre at Shree Krishna Mandir at 10B High Street, Leamington from 9.30am to 5.30pm.

Don’t forget if you can’t make any donor drives but would like to join the register to help blood cancer patients like Kaiya, you can check your eligibility and register online for a home swab kit. See our website for more details www.raceagainstbloodcancer.com/join

www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk/news/stem-cell-donor-drive-being-held-in-leamington-in-hopes-of-helping-five-year-old-kaiya-1-8526582

Tagged under - June 8, 2018Donor Drive, Patient Appeal, Patient Story, Recruitment#match4kaiya, blood cancer, donor registration, patient appeal, stem cell donorRace Against Blood Cancer

Donor registration drive hat-trick with Omnicom

November 18, 2015Donor Drive, News & updatesblood cancer, cancer, Diversity, donor drive, donor registration, omnicomRace Against Blood Cancer

Race Against Blood Cancer completes hat-trick of Donor Registration Drives with Omnicom as the OMD UK drive leads to another success.

On Thursday 18th November the Race Against Blood Cancer team visited its third Omnicom Media Group office OMD UK, having previously held donor registration drives at OMD International and PHD UK.

As the team has come to expect, there were a number of willing participants and friendly faces throughout the day, which certainly helped raise everyone’s spirits on a bitterly cold winter’s day.

During a busy week for the agency, with several high profile meetings taking place, Kadie Evans did an incredible job getting everyone organised and rallying the troops, resulting in 70 new bone marrow and stem cells donors being signed up.

As is often the case with these drives, the Race Against Blood Cancer team were pleased to be able to educate a number of people who had the misconception that we were physically taking blood as part of the registration process, when in fact it’s a simple cheek swab and a few minutes of their time, to explain what will happen if they’re lucky enough to be a donor match for a patient in need.

A massive thank you to Kadie and all of her team. We cannot thank you enough for your efforts.