Liverpool Marrow show support for Hero Week

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Liverpool Marrow society members encouraging donor sign ups

It’s been a whirlwind of events for the Liverpool Marrow society as they celebrated Hero Week – a campaign dedicated to raising awareness of the Anthony Nolan charity and encouraging stem cell donation to help save blood cancer patients’ lives.  

From inspirational talks to an exciting donor recruitment drive, Liverpool Marrow shone a spotlight on the lifesaving work that Anthony Nolan carries out and successfully added further names to the stem cell donor list. 

Third year Student Doctor Robert Harris is the social media co-ordinator for Liverpool Marrow and talked to us about all things Hero Week.  

What is Marrow and what work does it carry out? 

“UK Marrow is the student body for the lifesaving blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan. They have a worldwide stem cell register so a lot of their practical work looks to match healthy donors (who can donate their stem cells) to people living with blood cancers and blood disorders in order to make them better. Here at Liverpool Marrow, we are a small group of mostly medical students - but led by our fantastic president, Adeline, who is studying Psychology - trying to raise awareness of what we do! 

What is Hero Week all about?  

"Recently, UK Marrow had a ‘Hero Week’ – one week to raise awareness of the charity with an aim to sign up lots of new potential lifesavers to the stem cell register. We focused on the sporty types around campus, and this is what we got up to:  

On Monday 20th November, we set up a stall at the gym on campus, speaking to lots of young people about Anthony Nolan, their lifesaving work and the process of donating stem cells.  

Then, on Wednesday 22nd November, our president chatted to the rowing squad after their early morning weights session at the Vine Court gym. Over the week, we managed to sign up about ten people to the register which is fantastic!"

What is the process for stem cell donation like?

"I have a personal connection to Anthony Nolan after donating to the same poorly patient on three occasions in 12 months. I signed up at college and the process was very simple. It involved a cheek swab which was then sent off to the labs and, a few days later I was on the stem cell register! It was therefore a surprise when only six months later, I got a phone call saying that I was a potential match! I had to give some more blood, go for a full health check and then I signed the consent form to donate my stem cells.

For 90% of donations, the procedure takes place in a similar way to kidney dialysis. Blood is taken from one arm, is then filtered so that the stem cells can be collected, and the rest of the blood comes back into the other arm. The procedure is not painful at all – in fact I found it mostly uncomfortable because I am not used to sitting down in the same position for four hours straight! The entire Anthony Nolan team were a great support: they organised everything from the travel to the donation itself and their care of me was really amazing!

How can students get involved in Liverpool Marrow? 

"We are always looking for people to sign up to the stem cell register. If you are aged between 16 and 30, you can! Any questions about the sign-up process or how donation works, please message our Instagram account!  

We are always looking for volunteers to help at Liverpool Marrow too! If this is something that interests you, do message us as well!  

We will be having a social in the new year and some more donor recruitment events, so if you want to donate then come along, if you want to help out then message us!” 

After a successful week, it’s a fantastic achievement to have encouraged more support for a worthwhile and important charity. Indeed, as Liverpool Marrow say: “Some heroes don’t wear capes, they sign up to the Anthony Nolan stem cell registry!” 

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