East Mids below the UK average in lifesaving stem cell donor registrations - World Blood Cancer Day 2025

As the UK marks World Blood Cancer Day on 28 May, DKMS is calling on people across the East Midlands to take action, and help to give people with blood cancer a second chance at life by joining the stem cell donor register.

Every 14 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer. For many patients, a stem cell transplant from a matching donor is their best or only chance of survival – but only a very small proportion of the UK population are currently registered as potential donors.

DKMS spokesperson Deborah Hyde says, “When a patient needs a stem cell transplant, only one in three will find a donor in their immediate family. This means that two thirds of patients will need to find a stranger who is a compatible stem cell match, and who can offer them a second chance at life. Joining the register means that you could offer that lifeline for someone in their time of greatest need. Most people will never be called to donate, but if you are, you have the potential to save someone’s life”.

Tasneem Ali is a GP from Leicester, and an active volunteer with DKMS. When her son Yusuf was just 11 years old, he was showing signs of fatigue and low appetite, before he received a devastating leukaemia diagnosis.

Tasneem says, “As a mum, my child being diagnosed with cancer was my worst nightmare. Early on, we knew that we might need to rely on the stem cell donor register. I knew that the number of people on the register is much too low, and honestly I was terrified. I have seen families in desperate situations families, anxiously waiting for a match within a time sensitive period”.

Of the people on the UK register, only 16 % are from UK minority ethnic backgrounds. It is much easier to find a match from a donor with a similar ethnic background, so blood cancer patients from minority backgrounds find it much harder to find someone who can offer them a second chance at life. Luckily, Yusuf has so far not needed a stem cell transplant, but if he ever does, this could make it more difficult for him to find a match.

For Tasneem, this weighed heavily on her mind. She continues, “Being from an Asian ethnic background the chances of finding a match significantly reduces. I spent a long time worrying that he would relapse, and I never wanted my child’s life to be at risk due to those poor statistics. That’s why I’m calling for more people to join the register, especially people from our diverse communities across the East Midlands”.

Tasneem is marking World Blood Cancer Day with DKMS by encouraging everyone aged 17–55 and in good general health to order a free swab kit via their website ( dkms.org.uk), complete a simple cheek swab, and return it to be added to the register.

Things you didn’t know about blood cancer:

• Blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
• Every year, nearly 13,000 people die from blood cancer in the UK.
• At any one time there are around 2,000 people in the UK in need of a stem cell transplant.

Signing up to the stem cell donor register is a quick and easy process involving some painless mouth swabs: if you are aged 17-55 and in general good health, you're eligible to join the register with DKMS. If you are then matched with someone needing a transplant, in nine out of ten cases donating is a simple, outpatient process similar to donating blood platelets.