Mum's plea for stem cell donor

RAISING awareness . . . Lindsey Tyrell, pictured during chemotherapy

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A BRAVE mum is hoping to raise awareness about stem cell donation as she awaits a donor match after being diagnosed with leukaemia.

Lindsey Tyrrell (41) was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2014 and underwent months of treatment and chemotherapy as she battled the disease. However, after two years of steady improvement, Lindsey was told in November that she had relapsed and would need a new form of treatment, including a chemotherapy and a stem cell donation.

The mum-of-two, originally from Shaw, is now appealing for people to join the stem cell donation register and is raising awareness of how easy the registration and donation process is.

She said: "When my doctor told me the news I was very shocked and really upset. I know a few people who have had transplants, so I knew it was a long, hard road ahead. But first I needed to find a stem cell donor. My brother and two sisters had been checked previously and weren't a match, so I would have to go into the system to find a match."

She added that she had supported a friend, who she met in a day clinic, as they underwent the process of finding a match and saw how difficult it could be.

Lindsey, who has been married to husband Paul for over 20 years, said: "It was touch and go if they would get one in time and I attended a fundraising and donating day for her, to get more people aware of the process and to register.

"Since then we have been sharing an appeal on Facebook and asking people to watch a short clip about how easy it is to be a donor and save a life."

The video explains that being added to the blood stem cell donor register only takes a few minutes and a cheek swab, which can be done at home and sent back in a pre-paid envelope.

Lindsey, who works at Debenhams in Bury, added that discovering she would need a stem cell donation was "ironic" after spending eight years donating blood and registering on the donor list for stem cells.

The mum-of-two also took part in Cancer Research's Race for Life five times, including once during her chemotherapy, in her bid to raise funds and awareness.

She said she first noticed a problem when began to feel tired and struggled with headaches and night sweats in late 2014.

Lindsey, from Heywood, said: "Just before my first, very shocking, diagnosis I was super fit, probably the fittest I had every been. I went to the gym five days a week, my diet was very good and kale I was very much on the health train.

"When I first started to feel tired, I assumed it was the time of year, as winter was setting in, and I thought I was just feeling a little run down or maybe fighting a winter bug.

"I would just take paracetamol and then went off to work.

"Then bruises began to appear, only a few at first.

"I assumed I had banged myself at work and not realised but over the space of about a week, the bruises increased. By this time I thought I had better go get it looked at, as I had about 25 bruises."

Lindsey made an appointment with her GP for blood tests and within days her doctor called her to say that her blood tests were concerning and booked her into hospital for more tests, including removing bone marrow from her hip.

She said: "I still had no idea what they suspected at all, but I did sense that they knew something and it made me feel very uneasy.

"The day after, doctors came into my room and sat either side of my bed with my husband Paul.

"I will never forget the solemn look on their faces and the sad apologetic eyes, as he told me that they had found acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

"My gut reaction was to say "I'm going to beat it", but once the doctors left both myself and my husband broke down.

"I had to let family know, which was hard to do, but nothing was worse than my husband telling our children Robyn and Adam, then aged 17 and 12."

Lindsey was transferred to The Christie, in Manchester, in November to start a six-week chemotherapy course straight away and needed regular blood and platelet transfusions to keep her levels topped up.

After missing Christmas and New Year with her family, Lindsey was allowed home in early January, 2015, but had to be constantly vigilant against germs and viruses to avoid developing an infection which her weakened immune system would struggle to fight.

Despite developing a couple of infections over the year, Lindsey's immune system continued to improve with treatment and the first anniversary of her diagnosis came and went.

However in November 2016, two years after her diagnosis, the family were dealt a cruel blow and were told the only way forward would be a different regime of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant and began their campaign to raise awareness and find a donor for Lindsey.

She is also keen to thank The Christie and their staff for supporting the family through her diagnosis and treatment.

Lindsey said: "Throughout my journey, The Christie have been absolutely amazing and I felt privileged to have a room in their hospital and be in their care.

From the health care assistants, receptionists, nurses and doctors, everyone was fantastic and that extra level of care helps so so much."

Stem cell donations can be done in one of two ways; Peripheral blood stem cell collection and bone marrow collection.

Peripheral blood stem cell collection is where blood stem cells are collected from the donor's blood stream by removing blood from one arm, running it through a machine that separates out the stem cells, then returning the blood to the donor through their other arm.

Around 90 per cent of donations are carried out using this method and it is a non surgical outpatient procedure, taking around 4 to 6 hours.

Bone marrow collection is much rarer and involves the blood stem cells being collected from bone marrow at the back of the hip bone.

The procedure is carried out under general anaesthetic so that no pain is experience with the collection taking 1-2 hours.

To find out more about registering as a stem cell donor visit www.dkms.org.uk/en or watch the video: