Plea for ethnic minority stem cell donors after mum's diagnosis

A young woman whose mother has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer has urged more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to join the stem cell donor register.

Nidahl Hamdan, 24, from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, has been sharing her family's experience online after her mother Zeinab was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in January.

Doctors told the family it could be harder to find a suitable stem cell donor because she was of Eritrean descent, with patients more likely to match with someone from a similar ethnic background.

Since then, Nidahl has been using social media to encourage more people - especially those with Black, African and Caribbean heritage - to join the stem cell register run by blood cancer charity, Anthony Nolan.

People from minority ethnic backgrounds could find it harder to find a matching donor because they often have rarer tissue types, the charity said.

"When my mum was diagnosed, I had no idea how blood cancer or leukaemia was treated," she said.

"I just had it in my head that it would be chemotherapy. I think that lack of awareness can also lead to misconceptions."

Nidahl, who has a master's degree in health psychology and is of Sudanese and Eritrean descent, said her mother's diagnosis had "turned her life upside down".

She added she had found herself translating complex medical information and terminology for her mother, while also trying to advocate for those affected by blood cancers and blood disorders.

Zeinab is now undergoing her second round of chemotherapy treatment.

Nidahl said: "As human beings, the number one thing I believe in, is having a moral responsibility to help each other, because at the end of the day, we are all the same.

"Blood cancer does not discriminate. Try to put yourself in my shoes and imagine if your parent or your loved one needed a life-saving transplant."

According to the NHS, stem cells are special cells produced by bone marrow that can turn into different types of blood cells.

A stem cell transplant involves replacing damaged or diseased blood cells with healthy stem cells.

Rowena Bentley, head of programme and community at Anthony Nolan, said more donors from ethnic minority backgrounds were urgently needed.

She said: "We urgently need more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to join the register, so every patient has the best possible chance of finding their match."

Nidahl added: "Even if you're not my mum's match, you could save someone else's life, so please sign up."

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