A cancer patient who is battling the disease for a second time says she is “elated” to have finally found a bone marrow donor who could save her life.
Bengu Shail, 34, was told her cancer had returned last October and had been searching for a match. As the former Channel 4 producer was born in Cyprus, specialists told her she may have problems as ethnic minorities are under-represented on the bone marrow registry.
Ms Shail, who lives in Forest Hill, said: “When I found out that there was a lack of donors from ethnic minorities, I was really cross. I wanted to know why there was a lack of awareness about the problem and I wanted to resolve it.”
Thankfully, Ms Shail had the transplant on Friday. She said: “I just couldn’t believe that someone I didn’t even know would do such a selfless thing for me.”
Since she was first diagnosed in 2009 with lymphoblastic leukaemia, Ms Shail has been campaigning for the Anthony Nolan Charity, a register of donors, and to raise awareness of the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, who work to find donors from all backgrounds.
To find out more about donating go to aclt.org or anthonynolan.org
