Bone marrow donor speaks out

A year ago, Ian Turner donated bone marrow to help a stranger beat leukaemia. Now his best friend is suffering from a rare form of the cancer and needs to find a match. Daniel Darlington reports.

Most people say they would willingly give up a kidney to save a loved one. But how many would go through pain to help someone they barely know?

Ian Turner, a project manager in Maidenhead, is one person who would, and has. And he knows better than most the old adage – it is better to give than to receive.

Last spring, the 40-year-old, of Derwent Drive, underwent a complex bone marrow transplant in London and may have given someone in Spain – man, woman, child, he doesn’t know – a second chance at life.

It was one of the most rewarding and proud moments of his life but the true power of his action were given clarity earlier this year when best friend and colleague Chris Maury was struck down with leukaemia.

Now he is hoping and praying with everyone else that a similar anonymous angel will be found for Chris.

“It is a difficult situation because we want to help but also don’t want to get in their way,” said Ian, who is godfather to Chris’s first child Jake. “When he first told me it was a big shock but I took him to one side and told him he was going to beat this thing.”

“His wife Sarah has been incredible and she has got great support from her family but all we can do is keep our fingers crossed he will find a donor.”

Chris, of Lowbrook Drive, is determined to beat a rare form of leukaemia and live to see Jake, eight, and his younger son, Luke, three, grow into adulthood.

But doctors have warned him his best chance of survival is a transplant and his chances are complicated by finding a donor with similar Anglo-Mauritian roots.

Ian strikes you as the kind of man who would give his right arm to help his friend and that is why he is encouraging anyone, everywhere to put their signature on the register.

“When I tell people, they are often quite surprised that I don’t know the person I helped, that it wasn’t for a family member of a friend,” he said. “But it was an incredibly worthwhile experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing again for someone else.”

He added: “I feel proud and a sense of achievement after coming through the procedure.”

The process for Ian started two years ago at a blood donation event at Nortel, where he works as an enterprise project manager.

As the blood was taken from his arm he spotted a leaflet for the British Bone Marrow Register. “I donated blood and signed up to the register but didn’t expect to be called for many years,” he said.

“I thought I might be on it for 10 years without a call. But within months I was told they had found a match. I was surprised they had called so soon but after discussing it with my family and doctors, and after further tests I decided to go ahead with the procedure.”

The process is called leucopheresis. It involves removing blood from one arm with a needle, extracting the stem cells in a cell separator, before pumping the blood back into the body.

The cells were immediately frozen and flown out to Spain within days for the recipient. During the procedure in London, Ian was comfortable enough to read a book and watch day time television.

“I didn’t suffer any side affects like dizziness and was able to watch TV,” he said. “My wife Alison drove me home afterwards and I was back in work and feeling fine by Monday.”

He added: “I hope only that I have given someone a chance to make a full recovery and I hold on to that thought. People of all ages, all walks of life can be struck down for no apparent reason. “By becoming a bone marrow donor you can give them the chance to look forward to a better life to come.”

Bone marrow volunteers can apply directly to the Anthony Nolan Trust. For more information visit www.anthonynolan.org.uk or call 0207 2841234. 

To watch a video of Chris Maury's appeal for a donor and frank interview, click here.