Donor match woman inspired to run

Discovering she was a match for a patient in need of a lifesaving blood stem cell donation has inspired a woman from Exeter to take part in a 15k run to raise funds for the charity Delete Blood Cancer UK.

Carole England registered with the charity several years ago and was surprised to be recently called to be told that she had a matching tissue-type to a patient in need of a blood stem cell donation.

As she awaits confirmation if she will be donating to them, she decided to fundraise to help other patients and is undertaking the ‘Rock Solid’ endurance event in Exeter on the 19th and 20th of March. 

Carole is undertaking the challenge event, which involves running over obstacles in the mud, with her partner Gavin Coleman, and the money raised will go towards registering new potential donors with Delete Blood Cancer UK.

They are doing it because, for many blood cancer patients, a blood stem cell donation is their only chance of survival but many patients in the UK never find the lifesaving blood stem cell donor match they need. They want to support Delete Blood Cancer UK, a charity that works to improve the chances of those seeking matching donors to save their lives by recruiting potential stem cell donors to increase the pool of donors.

Speaking about her fundraising, Carole said: “When I joined the register I never thought that I would ever actually be a match, but I am really happy to be helping someone. I would love to raise as much as possible for the charity, but equally I am really keen to raise awareness and if it encourages other people to sign up, that is equally great.  Rock Solid is a great race and I would encourage anyone to take part.”

Praising Carole and Gavin for taking part in the run to raise funds for Delete Blood Cancer UK, Shadia Hameed, Community Fundraising Manager at the charity, said: “It is particularly special that Carol’s match with a patient in need of a lifesaving donation has inspired Gavin and herself to take on this challenge. Not only will her taking part in this run raise valuable funds for the charity, it will help to raise awareness of the importance of registering as a potential blood stem cell donor.”

You can support Carole and Gavin by donating online at: https://www.justgiving.com/carole-england2

You can find out more about the work of Delete Blood Cancer UK at: www.deletebloodcancer.org.uk