A FESTIVAL place duty manager is encouraging residents to become members of a stem cell donor register after being diagnosed with blood cancer.

One of the shopping centres duty managers Mart Roe needed a stem cell transplant after being diagnosed with cancer two years ago. Now back on the road to health, he and his partner Kayleigh Pistell, who also works at Festival Place as a business performance administrator, are organising the event in May on behalf of blood cancer charity DKMS.

The charity raises awareness about the register and the fact that the more people that go on it, the more chance there is of finding a match for a successful and speedy transplant.

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Mart is now in complete remission following his stem cell transplant in November and has now returned to work as a duty manager in the Festival Place security team after 18 months.

Kayleigh said: “Mart has a type of blood cancer called myeloma, It’s not curable, but it’s treatable.

“We were lucky. Mart didn’t need a donor and was able to harvest his own stem cells for his transplant, but this isn’t an option for everyone with blood cancer – if he had to have a donor we may still be waiting now.

“This is where the stem cell register is so important; time is crucial, we need more people on the register so that matches are ready and people aren’t having to wait, treatment can go ahead and they can start living their lives again, which is exactly where we are now.

“At three months post-transplant Mart was told he was in complete remission – those are the words every cancer patient deserves to hear and that is why we need to get swabbing!

“Everyone is so used to doing Covid swabs now and this is even easier than that – it's three cheek swabs and you’re registered.

“It takes minutes of your life but going on the register now means you could still be there for someone in 20 years’ time. The actual stem cell donation only takes a few hours – and that could add years to someone else’s life.”

The DKMS team will set up on Festival Place on World Blood Cancer Day on May 28. They will be explaining the stem cell donation process to visitors and taking swabs so that potential blood stem cell donors can be added to the register.

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Neil Churchill, Festival Place director, added: “Kayleigh and Mart are both valued members of the Festival Place team and we are delighted that Mart has responded so well to treatment.

“Every person who signs up to the stem cell register has the potential to save someone’s life – and I would urge anyone thinking about it to drop in to see the DKMS team at the centre on May 28 and find out more.”

If you can’t make it on the day but would still like to register and find out more, order your home swab kit here dkms.org.uk/festivalplace.