The Nottinghamshire man who's given a stranger a 'second chance of life'

A 21-year-old man from Mansfield has saved somebody's life by donating his stem cells after years on the register. Zak Riley, formerly of Carlton, joined the Anthony Nolan register when he was a teenager and was unsure if he would ever be a match, as most people on the stem cell register are never called upon.

The Anthony Nolan register is the world’s first bone marrow register, and it was created in 1974 by Shirley Nolan when her son needed a bone marrow donor but there was no system in place. Although Anthony never found a match, the charity has since helped thousands of people and, currently, more than 20,700 people across Nottinghamshire have signed up.

On January 5, 2024, Mr Riley was able to save someone's life and described it as "a great feeling knowing that I have done that for someone", saying he's "given somebody a second chance of life".

"I would like to think it's something most people would do if they could," said a modest Mr Riley. Stem cell transplants are treatments needed for patients with blood cancers, such as acute myeloid leukaemia and blood disorders like aplastic anaemia. The process replaces damaged or diseased cells with healthy ones and gives the patient a new immune system.

Mr Riley joined the register in 2020, saying he wanted to do more to help people whilst he knww about it, explaining organ donation was primarily done after people die.

Mr Riley recalled a phone call from the charity two years later, saying he felt "buzzing" when told he was a potential match. "It was my 20th birthday when I got a call saying 'you are a potential match, we need to do some blood tests'. They did the tests and I was a match."

However, despite being a match there were some delays. "It got postponed and then I was contacted again in December 2023 and then donated in January of this year," said Mr Riley.

In the four days prior donors are sent a course of injections to help their body prepare. Like more than 90 percent of donors, trainee teacher Mr Riley donated through the bloodstream.

Taking stem cells through the bloodstream takes four to five hours and takes place on an outpatient ward at one of the donation centres. Regarding the process, Rowena Bentley, head of programme and community recruitment, explained: "During the process, a donor lies on a bed or reclining chair while a needle is put into each arm.

"Blood is drawn out of one arm and fed into an apheresis machine that filters the stem cells out of the blood. It also filters out some plasma, which the cells are suspended in. Stem cells and plasma are collected in a special bag while the red blood cells and remaining plasma is put back into the donor’s bloodstream through the second needle."

Mr Riley said he was "excited" but "nervous" to donate, but pleased he did it. Although most donors give bloodstream donations, there is another method. Ms Bentley explained: "The second, rarer method is via the bone marrow.

"Donors are put under general anaesthetic and the procedure involves inserting a needle into the hip bone to collect blood enriched in stem cells. This takes about 30 minutes. Donors stay overnight for observations and are discharged the next morning."

She added: "‘It’s important for more people to sign up to the register because not all patients have access to the treatment they need, and many don’t survive. Others must live with side effects of treatment. This is why our work building and diversifying the stem cell register is at the heart of everything we do.

"Anthony Nolan particularly needs more young men, like Zak, to step forward. Young men are significantly more likely to be chosen to donate their stem cells to a patient in need. Currently, young men aged under 30 make up more than 50 percent of the people asked to donate their stem cells but account for only 16 percent of the Anthony Nolan register."

During the donation process, the charity will book and pay for hotels, travel and any reasonable expenses for the donor and a companion. If someone has to take time off work for their donation and whilst they recover, the charity can also cover any loss of earnings if someone is unable to take paid leave.

Mr Riley's donation was a success and he remains on the register. He added: "It's unlikely that I will be a match with someone else, but people do donate twice so I will stay on it."

Anyone aged between 16 and 30 years old can join the register, and they will stay on it until they turn 61. Ms Bentley said that a successful transplant can be "lifesaving" for patients, as without treatment they may have to move to end-of-life care.

She said: "‘Since the charity’s inception in 1974, Anthony Nolan has facilitated over 26,500 stem cell transplants. These transplants have given more time to families and in some cases even allowed children to grow up and become nurses working at the very hospitals where they received treatment."

After someone donates the charity stays connected to the donor for a decade to ensure that they are doing well.