In this episode I spoke with Charis Ober - Executive Director and Founder of the Save the Cord Foundation based in Tucson, Arizona.

We chatted about the history of the Foundation, the importance of cord blood and all the possibilities for saving a life, including through regenerative medicine and stem cell transplants.

We also heard about the brand new educational programme, Cord Blood in the Classroom, being launched on World Cord Blood Day on 15 November 2024. I hope you enjoy the listen.

It is always a pleasure and a privilege to speak with my guests on this podcast and I hope you find this an inspiring listen.

Useful links are below:

https://www.savethecordfoundation.org/

https://www.nextgenerationcordblood.org/

https://www.worldcordbloodday.org/

In this episode, I chatted with Yaser Martini, Founder of the Team Margot Foundation. Yaser’s daughter, Margot was just a few months old, when she was diagnosed with blood cancer and needed a stem cell transplant. Due to her mixed heritage, opportunities to find a donor match were slim, so Team Margot was set up and focused on blood, stem cell and organ donation for nine years, raising thousands of pounds and helping many families dealing with a similar diagnosis.

We chatted about Margot’s story and legacy, the impact on families through the process of finding a donor match and dealing with the reality of cancer. We also talked about the importance of stem cell, blood and organ donation and touched on the All Party Parliamentary Group he has been involved with for change. Finally, Yaser spoke candidly about the winding down of Team Margot and his devotion to campaigning and advocacy.

It is always a pleasure and a privilege to speak with my guests on this podcast and I hope you find this an inspiring listen. To find out more about the work Team Margot Foundation has achieved over nine years, please take a look at www.teammargot.com

In this episode, I chatted with Beverley de Gale and Orin Lewis, parents of Daniel de Gale, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of six, back in 1993 and was the first black individual in the UK to receive a stem cell transplant six years later.

We talked about Daniel’s story and the difficulties they faced as a family in finding him a donor match and we chatted about the need for a diverse stem cell register and for people of all ethnicities to sign up if they can.

Our conversation took place earlier this summer and as Sickle Cell Awareness Month was in September, we also spoke about Sickle Cell Disorder and the impact that has on families needing urgent treatment.

Bev and Orin started the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust after realising that their son, Daniel’s chances of finding a donor match were one in a quarter of a million. The work the ACLT do is incredible. I hope you enjoy the listen.

You can find out more about the work the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust do and Daniel’s story at www.aclt.org

It is always such a huge privilege to be able to speak with my guests and share their stories. I hope you find this conversation both interesting and inspiring.

Thank you for listening.

In this episode, I talked with Martine Schuit van Reissen again, from the World Marrow Donor Association, based in the Netherlands. I also spoke with Dr Warren Fingrut, Haematologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Jeff and Susan Haertling from Marrow Mates in Florida. Jeff is a donor, himself and is Founder of Marrow Mates and Susan works as the Director of Genetic Genealogy and runs the EFDS Program.

We began the episode learning about the origins of World Marrow Donor Day and how it is celebrated. Dr Fingrut then chatted about his work as a Haematologist and also the work he does with the Stem Cell Club, which he set up to raise awareness and recruit donors to the register. Jeff is a donor himself and told us about his personal and very moving donor story. His wife, Susan, then explained her work creating the Extending Family Donor Search initiative. Marrow Mates’ hopes to expand the diversity of existing donor registries to enable equal outcomes for all blood disease patients in need of a stem cell transplant.

I’m very grateful to my guests today for their valuable insight and knowledge in the important topic of stem cell donation at the core of all they do. I hope you enjoy the World Marrow Donor Day celebrations and if you’re a donor, a heartfelt thank you on behalf of the families who you help. I hope this episode has inspired you to get involved and maybe sign up to the stem cell register, you could be someone’s magical match.

You can find out more about World Marrow Donor Day and our guests' work through these links, here:

https://worldmarrowdonorday.org/

https://wmda.info/

https://stemcellclub.ca/

https://www.marrowmates.org/

In this episode, I spoke with Martine Schuit van Reissen and Rhian Voskamp from the World Marrow Donor Association.

We chatted about everything from the importance of education, the awareness around the need and use of cord blood in stem cell donation and reaching as many people as possible around the globe to help them understand the importance of stem cell donation.

The World Marrow Donor Association works with many partners across the globe to build donor registries in every country around the world. Their work is ongoing and they are an incredible, small team of dedicated professionals, working with hundreds of wonderful volunteers to connect the right people with the right organisations to bring about the best resources to enable effective support to those in need around the world.

Martine and Rhian also shared their own personal stories that drive them to help others and I hope you enjoy the listen.

It was, as always, a huge privilege and humbling experience to speak with these amazing people. I am so grateful to be able to engage with my guests in this manner and hope it inspires those of you who listen to these conversations, to find out more about the stem cell register and maybe sign up in the hope of helping someone else in need.

You can find more about the World Marrow Donor Association here: https://wmda.info/

Thank you for listening.

In this episode, the second part of our two parter, we continue the conversation with Lisa Gosnay.

In part two, we hear about her struggles with career progression, her subsequent health issues which led to her relapse and her stem cell transplant.

Lisa has a blog on Instagram which you can follow here:

https://www.instagram.com/my_plan_c/#.

As always, it is a huge privilege to be able to speak with such inspirational guests on this podcast and I really do hope that this conversation inspires you, too.

Please share it far and wide!

Thank you for listening.

In this episode, we hear from Lisa Gosnay, who at 29, was diagnosed with Aplastic Anaemia.

Lisa is an amazing person and has an extraordinary story. In this two-parter, we hear about her initial diagnosis and treatment. We learn about her career struggles, having been very career-focused and her determination to keep going forward, despite the impact on her health; and her ultimate acceptance of her condition.

On this podcast, we usually focus on blood cancer, but this is about a blood disorder that can have a profound impact on an individual and as Lisa termed it, Aplastic Anaemia is known as the ugly sister to Leukaemia.

There is a stem cell transplant in this story, but we will hear more about that part of Lisa's experience in Part Two, coming soon.

As always, it is a huge privilege to be able to speak with such inspirational guests on this podcast and I really do hope that this conversation inspires you, too.

Please share it far and wide!

Thank you for listening.

In this episode we hear from Mike Niles, Author of 'Hard Graft,' - an incredible book combining the history and science of stem cells and donation. At its heart is a story of love and a mother's determination to save her son.

You can purchase Hard Graft on Amazon.

As always, it is a huge privilege to be able to speak with such inspirational guests on this podcast and I really do hope that this conversation inspires you, too.

Please share it far and wide!

Thank you for listening.