A Co Down woman who was inspired by a brave Newry teenager who sadly died of leukemia last year has said she it was "totally amazing" to have given someone else a second chance at life.
Catherine Henry, a 34-year-old mother-of-two from Ardglass near Downpatrick, donated stem cells to a woman in her 20s in France through the international blood cancer charity DKMS UK.
She registered with the charity in 2022 after coming across the 'Do It For Daniel' campaign on social media, dedicated to Newry teenager Daniel Greer.
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Daniel had battled acute myeloid leukaemia for over two years but sadly passed away in September.
The Newry teenager, who would have celebrated his 17th birthday on October 16, was at the centre of a campaign raising awareness and encouraging people to sign up to the DKMS UK register to donate stem cells.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Catherine said she was one of those inspired by the campaign to sign up.
"I had a child myself in 2019 and I seen a Facebook post for Daniel," she said. "I just think when you have children yourself, your whole perspective on life changes. So when I seen the Do it for Daniel campaign - and they were campaigning at the time for more people to register - I jumped on it and registered.
"And to be honest, I completely forgot that I had registered. Then, when I got the phone call - two and a half years later when I had nearly forgot I had even signed up - it all went pretty fast. At the time, it was a lot to take in. It was coming up to Christmas as well and I had a lot to get done. I had medical things to get done but the whole time you're thinking about the person on the other end. How could you say no?"
After being told she was a match for someone in need of a donation, Catherine said the details of the recipient were kept "completely anonymous".
"I did my donation on the Tuesday and the person received the stem cells on the Wednesday, so it was totally amazing," she said. "I got a call on the Friday to say the patient has got it, that they are in the age range from 20 to 30, they're from France, and it's a girl.
"That is all I know at the minute. They did say that, come spring time, I should know more about how they're responding. I'm hoping to hear everything is going well."
She added: "You're giving someone a second chance, totally."
Catherine donated in Edinburgh, at one of DKMS’ stem cell collection centres. The charity has four centres in the UK, each of which has been set up with individual health trusts - with sites in Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield and London.
With no site, yet, set up in Northern Ireland, the charity pay all travel expenses for donors to make their way to the nearest site.
For Catherine, that meant her travel to Scotland was entirely paid for, and organised by, DKMS UK.
“We got to enjoy some time in the city – it was nice to go away for a couple of days together," she said. "The donation itself was very straightforward – I’m so scared of needles but it was absolutely fine – the team are so specialised, they know exactly what they’re doing and are so supportive.
“You just have to think of that person on the other side – what you go through is nothing compared to their experience.
“My family are so proud of me for donating – and people at work have been coming up to me to say well done. I know at least one girl who signed up which is fantastic – I really want to raise awareness about the stem cell register and let people know how simple it is.
“I know my recipient is a woman around the same age to me – it just made me think: that could have been me on the other end. I just wish her all the best – I hope she can go on to have a normal life.”
Catherine said she would encourage anyone eligible to register.
DKMS UK say only 7% of the more than 33.3 million potentially eligible people in the UK are registered as potential stem cell donors. At any one time in the UK, there will be around 2,000 people waiting for a stem cell donor transplant.
Anyone in general good health between the ages of 17-55 can register. Only around 30% of people will have a familial match which means the vast majority of people rely on an unrelated donor.
English (United States) ·