In this episode I spoke with Charis Ober - Executive Director and Founder of the Save the Cord Foundation based in Tucson, Arizona.

We chatted about the history of the Foundation, the importance of cord blood and all the possibilities for saving a life, including through regenerative medicine and stem cell transplants.

We also heard about the brand new educational programme, Cord Blood in the Classroom, being launched on World Cord Blood Day on 15 November 2024. I hope you enjoy the listen.

It is always a pleasure and a privilege to speak with my guests on this podcast and I hope you find this an inspiring listen.

Useful links are below:

https://www.savethecordfoundation.org/

https://www.nextgenerationcordblood.org/

https://www.worldcordbloodday.org/

In this episode, I chatted with Yaser Martini, Founder of the Team Margot Foundation. Yaser’s daughter, Margot was just a few months old, when she was diagnosed with blood cancer and needed a stem cell transplant. Due to her mixed heritage, opportunities to find a donor match were slim, so Team Margot was set up and focused on blood, stem cell and organ donation for nine years, raising thousands of pounds and helping many families dealing with a similar diagnosis.

We chatted about Margot’s story and legacy, the impact on families through the process of finding a donor match and dealing with the reality of cancer. We also talked about the importance of stem cell, blood and organ donation and touched on the All Party Parliamentary Group he has been involved with for change. Finally, Yaser spoke candidly about the winding down of Team Margot and his devotion to campaigning and advocacy.

It is always a pleasure and a privilege to speak with my guests on this podcast and I hope you find this an inspiring listen. To find out more about the work Team Margot Foundation has achieved over nine years, please take a look at www.teammargot.com

In this episode, I chatted with Beverley de Gale and Orin Lewis, parents of Daniel de Gale, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of six, back in 1993 and was the first black individual in the UK to receive a stem cell transplant six years later.

We talked about Daniel’s story and the difficulties they faced as a family in finding him a donor match and we chatted about the need for a diverse stem cell register and for people of all ethnicities to sign up if they can.

Our conversation took place earlier this summer and as Sickle Cell Awareness Month was in September, we also spoke about Sickle Cell Disorder and the impact that has on families needing urgent treatment.

Bev and Orin started the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust after realising that their son, Daniel’s chances of finding a donor match were one in a quarter of a million. The work the ACLT do is incredible. I hope you enjoy the listen.

You can find out more about the work the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust do and Daniel’s story at www.aclt.org

It is always such a huge privilege to be able to speak with my guests and share their stories. I hope you find this conversation both interesting and inspiring.

Thank you for listening.