Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2015 | Page 77

Katy inspiring
stem cell donors

W

hen Katy O’Connor went
along to the Riverside Centre,
Newport, to see if she was
suitable to become a stem cell donor,
she accepted that the chances of finding
someone she could help were extremely
remote.
Nevertheless Katy, who lives in East
Cowes and works for Medina Foodservice,
Newport, was among more than 2,000
Islanders who went along for a simple
mouth swab.
What followed was something of a
bitter-sweet experience for Katy, who to
her surprise was subsequently informed
that she was a suitable match for
someone, somewhere in the world, only
to be informed at the last minute that she
would not be required.
To this day she does not know who the
recipient would have been and why there
was a last-minute U-turn, but she can
only assume that it was not for a positive
reason. However, the whole process has
inspired her to try to encourage more
people to come forward and join the
‘Delete Blood Cancer’ register. She is
not only being supported by friends and
family, but also her employers, who held
a testing session at their headquarters

in Newport recently. Katy explained the
process that she hopes many others will
undertake. She said: “I went along to the
Riverside with my partner, and signed up
on the register which was quick and easy,
and I was informed of everything that
was involved. It was a simple cheek swab
of 60 seconds each side - no needles, no
pain, no hassle. The swab then goes to a
lab