Northamptonshire woman's desperate search for a stranger that could save her dad's life

Harish Nersian, 72, is a much-loved dad and grandad.

He loves to cook for his friends and family, he recently celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary and is very close to his son and daughter and two grandchildren.

But after he went for blood tests last year after feeling unusually tired, he was diagnosed with high-risk MDS, a rare form of blood cancer.

Harish’s only chance for recovery is a stem cell transplant, but his Indian heritage means it will be more difficult for him to find a donor.

His daughter, Sunny Andrea, of Finedon said: “It’s devastating. My dad is my best friend – he is the kindest man with the heart of gold who always seems to have time for everybody else and simply adores his family and his grandkids.

"One day, we were planning family dinners, trips, retirement, and the next, we were handed a leaflet and told to process the fact that he has cancer.”

Sunny is now leading an urgent campaign with blood cancer charity DKMS to search for a stem cell donor who could give her dad – or others like him who need a matching donor – a second chance at life.

Her campaign has been supported by their wider family circle in the UK and abroad, including by her brother-in-law, the singer Peter Andre, who has shared the appeal on social media.

Sunny said: “It just seems so unfair.

“My dad is fighting blood cancer. And because he’s Indian, he has less chance of finding a matching donor that could save his life.”

Stem cells are the building blocks which allow the body to regenerate and heal.

For many patients with blood cancer like Harish, who lives in Harrow, a stem cell transplant from a matching donor could be their only opportunity for recovery.

However, only one in three patients will find a match in their family.

‘He needs one matching stranger to say yes’

Most patients will rely on finding a match from a complete stranger who has signed up to the stem cell donor register, but just seven per cent of the eligible population in the UK are signed up.

Sunny said: “It’s hard to feel so helpless. I’d do anything for him.

"I’m being tested as a potential donor, but the odds I’ll be eligible are not very high.

"My nine-year-old son has been asking if he can be the donor; he just loves his grandad so much, which has been breaking my heart.

"The hardest part is knowing medicine isn’t enough. He needs one matching stranger to say yes.”

Not all patients who need a transplant will be able to find a suitable donor.

Stem cell donor matches correlate strongly with ethnic background.

Of everyone registered as a potential donor, only 16 per cent are from any UK minority ethnic background. This means that the pool of potential donors is much smaller.

This, along with greater genetic diversity, means that people of UK ethnic minority heritages will often face longer waits to find a potentially life-saving match.

Simple process of signing up

Harish’s family is now working with blood cancer charity DKMS to encourage more people to register as potential stem cell donors and they are hoping to find a match for him or other patients like him who need a stem cell transplant.

Signing up is a simple process, involving just a few health questions and some painless cheek swabs – you can order a free swab kit from the DKMS website that can be posted to your home.

Once you are on the register, your swabs will be tested to find out if you are a match for a patient.

At any one time, there are around 2,000 people in the UK waiting for their match, including Harish.

Harish’s family are particularly encouraging people of South Asian heritage to join the stem cell donor register, but anyone aged 17 to 55 and in general good health can sign up.

Most people will not be a match, but if you are, in nine out of ten cases, donating your stem cells doesn’t require surgery. It can be done by a quick and easy outpatient process, which is similar to donating blood platelets.

‘You could be the match that someone is waiting for’

DKMS spokesman Bronagh Hughes said: “For Harish and patients like him, a total stranger joining the register could give them their lives back.

"The process is very simple, it’s so easy to give someone a second chance.

"Joining the register only requires a quick health questionnaire and a few simple and painless mouth swabs.

"It takes ten minutes of your time, but you could be the match that someone is waiting for.

"If you are matched to a patient and called up to donate, DKMS will be there to support you through the whole journey.”

Sunny added: “We just need the right person to join the register and the right person could be you.

“People joining the register in support of my dad would mean everything to us and it could even save a life.”

To find out more or order a swab kit, visit dkms.org.uk

For further information, search for Help Save Harish on Facebook or visit Sunny’s gofundme page.

Things you didn’t know about blood cancer

- Every 14 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer

- Blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK

- Every year, nearly 13,000 people die from blood cancer in the UK

- At any one time, there are around 2,000 people in the UK in need of a stem cell transplant