GLEN Road man Joe Mulholland is encouraging as many people as possible to sign up to the stem cell register after he was found to be a match.
 
Joe, who was inspired to sign up to the register after learning about the Eimear’s Wish campaign, was flown to London where he donated his stem cells to a cancer patient.
 
Speaking to the Andersonstown News after returning from London, he said: “My sister’s boyfriend had donated before me and my daddy got to know Eimear’s father from the gym.
 
“They got talking and my daddy came back and told me and we signed up. Within about five months I was told I was an initial match.
 
“From there, I was asked to complete some blood samples at my GP. They will invite a few people to do the blood test and the person who is the closest match is invited to donate their stem cells.” 

Joe, who is currently studying a Master’s in Business Analytics at Queens, told us that after that he had to fly to London for a medical assessment day with his travel covered by DKMS. Within a week the charity contacted him to tell him that he was fit enough to do the procedure and arranged a date to go back to London for the donation procedure.
 
“Although my date had been postponed twice due to the health of the patient, my life went on.
 
“When the day came, I flew out to London that morning and they took blood from my weak arm. It flows out into a machine which takes the stem cells and then the blood flows back into your other arm.
 
“There is a misconception that they use a big needle into your spine but the chances of that are very slim.”
 
Joe was allowed to bring his brother with him to London with their travel and accommodation covered by DKMS. Normally, the procedure could take two days depending on how many stem cells the patient needs. Joe said that he was lucky in that he produced seven million stem cells and didn’t have to go the second day.
 
“After the procedure I was fine and went out for a few pints and some sightseeing that night. I donated on the Wednesday and I was back playing football on Saturday so the recovery period was quite short.
 
“The charity were brilliant and provided us with £35 each day for food and drink along with tickets for busses and the underground. If you are working, they will also reimburse you for any loss of earnings too so you won’t be out of pocket.”
 
Seán Smyth, founder of Eimear’s Wish, a charity set up in his daughter's memory to carry out her dying wish of promoting the stem cell register, said that it was a strange turn of events that Joe donated his stem cells on Eimear’s birthday.
 
“Joe was in London all because of Eimear’s campaign. The whole family signed up when they heard her story,” he said.
 
“It is a bit of comfort knowing that we are delivering on Eimear’s last wish. Her last wish was that we get more people on the stem cell register to create hope for people like her.
 
“There is no guarantee that this patient is going to survive but without Joe donating, this person was going to die. That is the difference this makes.
 
“We need the whole of West Belfast, the whole of Ireland on the register. There is a young boy at the moment in the Royal Hospital. He is 14 years of age.
 
“We had Jack Stephens who died in November and he was four years of age. We need people to sign up and do the swab.
 
“It is extremely hard to find a match with the odds being 900 to 1. These people who are on the register took a bit of time out of their lives to swab their cheek and give something back. I think that is just wonderful,” he said.

"However, it shouldn't be up to us as parents or charities to be raising awareness, surely our government should be doing that."
 
To sign up for the stem cell register, visit the DKMS website.