'Just a swab could save someone's life'

A North East man who donated stem cells to a boy in Australia has said a year later he would "happily" do it again to help give someone else a chance.

Kam Saundh, from Consett in County Durham, went through the procedure in May last year and is now urging others to register to become a potential donor.

"You could be there [on the register] a week, could be there years but you could give someone and their family some hope and that's worth doing for just a swab," he said.

The 49-year-old donated through charity DKMS, which has warned just 3.3% of eligible people (16–55) in the region are registered as potential stem cell donors - slightly above the UK average of 3.1%.

Saundh said he signed up about five years ago after his partner, Katie Iveson-Cole, encouraged him to get involved.

At the time, her father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and her brother had previously been treated for leukaemia.

Saundh said he had forgotten he was on the register until he got a call at the start of last year to say he had been matched to someone.

Following tests, he travelled to London at the end of May 2025 to make the donation.

The microbiologist said it was "a lot to take in" as his partner's dad had died days before he was contacted to confirm the procedure was going to go ahead.

"It was quite a strange time round then," he said.

"But she said it doesn't really matter if things clash, go ahead, you're doing something to help save someone's life.

"I think what I would say is that you had to concentrate on more 'what I could do with people who are still around', and my partner agreed."

Saundh said the majority of donations were done via dialysis, but in his case it was decided to operate and take the cells from his pelvis to get a better yield.

He said he did not know who he was donating to at the time and it was "quite surprising" to find out he had saved a young boy of school age on a different continent.

"To think that something that I've done will help someone across the other side of the world, someone who I would say could possibly now go ahead and have a good life after this, a full, hopefully cancer-free life, it feels like I've done quite a good deed.

"I'm glad that I managed to help.

"I'd happily do it again to give someone else a chance."

During the first two years after a blood stem cell donation takes place, the donor and patient are generally only able to corresponded anonymously.

Saundh said it would be nice to meet the recipient and his family in the future if both sides agreed to it.

"We're coming up to about the one-year mark now so I'm hoping to hear something back from that side to see how how he's doing, but I do get told that if you don't hear any news that's always considered good news."

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