We are very sad to say that we are no longer running the holiday cottages due to severe long term illness in the family. If you would like to help - read on
Richard and his daughter both have a rare disease called Myelodysplastic Syndrome MDS.Rosalind has had two bouts of chemo in hospital and an unrelated donor transplant of bone marrow, and is doing OK. Richard is on a new chemo called Azacitine and is alos doing well.
The only cure for this blood disorder and often for leukaemia is to have a bone marrow transplant. To have a transplant you need:
A donor of matching bone marrow, also called stem cells
Matching blood for transfusions
Matching platelets - a special type of blood cell which is critical for clotting blood
A lot of care, drugs and luck
Can you and your friends and family help? In most cases you can by being a donor.
Giving blood and platelets can normally be organised easily at a hospital near you - ask you GP.
The Anthony Nolan Trust can advise you on whether you can be a bone marrow (stem cell) donor and how to go about it. The Anthony Nolan trust can send you a small container, you 'spit' into it, and send it back - this can be used to see if you match someone to be a potential bone marrow donor - nothing could be easier. Giving the bone marrow is done these days by filtering your blood - so is not as intrusive as it used to be.