Get Your Swab Out

A Simple Swab Could Save a Life

This What’s On Wednesday, the Pharmacy Society are bringing an important campaign to campus called Get Your Swab Out. The aim is simple: encourage students to join the stem cell donor register and potentially save someone’s life.

Signing up takes just a few minutes, but for someone living with a life-threatening blood cancer such as Leukaemia, that small action could mean everything.

Every year thousands of people around the world are diagnosed with blood cancers and blood disorders that can only be treated with a stem cell transplant. For many patients, chemotherapy alone is not enough. Their best chance of survival comes from receiving healthy stem cells from a donor.

While some patients are lucky enough to find a match within their own family, around 70 percent of people who need a transplant must rely on a stranger who has signed up to the donor register. This means that students and young people play a vital role in helping to grow the register and increase the chances of someone finding the match they need.

The Get Your Swab Out campaign makes the process of joining the register quick and easy. All it takes is filling in a short form and providing a saliva sample or cheek swab. That sample is then used to see whether you could be a match for someone in the future.

Most people who join the register will never be called to donate. However, if you are matched with a patient, you could be the person who gives them the chance to keep living their life.

Luke’s Story

Luke graduated last year from Huddersfield University with a first-class degree in Engineering. Reaching that milestone meant everything to him, but there was a time when he feared he might never get the chance.

In 2014, when Luke was just 14 years old, he was diagnosed with aggressive AML Leukaemia. His world changed overnight. What followed were months of gruelling chemotherapy, infections, and long periods of isolation.

Despite everything he went through, Luke held onto his dream of becoming an engineer. He hoped that one day he might work in motorsport. But during treatment, the future often felt uncertain.

Luke eventually went into remission and began rebuilding his life. For a year he was able to reconnect with friends and start returning to normal life. Sadly, just before his eighteenth birthday in September, he relapsed.

The news that followed was devastating. Doctors explained that his only chance of survival was a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor. His life now depended on someone he had never met being registered on the donor register.

Without a matching donor, Luke would not survive past December of that same year. Thankfully, Luke was one of the lucky ones.

A university student from Nottingham had previously signed up to the register and turned out to be a match. That one decision changed everything. The student donated his healthy stem cells, giving Luke the chance to survive and rebuild his life. Luke has since been able to meet his donor and their families have remained close.

“Please sign up to the register. It is so easy, just a simple spit sample, but the difference you can make is huge. You could save a person’s life, keep a family together and give them a happy future.” – Luke

A Student Who Stepped Forward

Stem cell donors are often ordinary people who simply chose to sign up one day. One of those donors is 21-year-old Tom, who joined the register while studying Medicine at the University of Nottingham.

Tom first heard about the donor register during a short talk before one of his lectures. Afterwards, volunteers were outside signing people up and he decided to take part.

“I had heard of Anthony Nolan and what they do, but I had never got round to signing up. It is literally as easy as filling in a form and spitting in a tube.” – Tom

Later, Tom was contacted because he had been identified as a match for someone who needed a transplant. In September he went on to donate his stem cells.

Tom said the experience was incredibly rewarding:

“It is not painful at all. Everything is organised for you and it is such a gratifying experience. If you have heard of Anthony Nolan and what they do, why would you not sign up?” – Tom

Why Students Matter

Young people between the ages of 16 and 30 are particularly encouraged to join the donor register because they often provide the best outcomes for patients receiving transplants.

Universities therefore play an important role in helping to grow the register. By signing up, students increase the chances that someone somewhere in the world will find the match they desperately need.

For many patients and their families, that match means hope. It means more birthdays, more graduations, more career opportunities, and more time with loved ones.

Join the Get Your Swab Out Campaign

The Pharmacy Society will be running Get Your Swab Out during What’s On Wednesday. Students will have the opportunity to learn more about stem cell donation and join the donor register on campus.

The process is simple and only takes a few minutes. All you need to do is complete a short form and provide a saliva sample. You might never be called to donate, but if you are, you could give someone the chance to live their life.

Come along this Wednesday and get involved – one small swab could change someone’s future.