{"id":12841,"date":"2026-04-25T07:37:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T07:37:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841"},"modified":"2026-04-25T07:57:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T07:57:44","slug":"rochdale-father-makes-urgent-appeal-for-stem-cell-donors-to-help-save-his-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841","title":{"rendered":"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Telecoms manager and father, Cecil from Rochdale, hopes the appeal will give him a second chance at life.<\/p>

He is working with charity DKMS to raise awareness after being diagnosed with secondary myelofibrosis, a serious form of blood cancer.<\/p>

Cecil Henry said: “As a father, I feel like I still have so much more to do.<\/p>

“My friends and family are worried for me, but more than anything, I want to be around for my son.<\/p>

“I\u2019m doing relatively well at the moment, but this is a progressive condition.<\/p>

“The reality is, at some point, I will need a transplant, which is scary to think about.<\/p>

“I don\u2019t want to get to that moment and then have to wait years to find a match, so I\u2019m getting the word out now, while I\u2019m well enough.”<\/p>

Only one in three patients finds a donor match within their family.<\/p>

None of Cecil\u2019s relatives is a match, meaning he must rely on a stranger who has joined the stem cell donor register.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Currently, just seven per cent of the eligible UK population is signed up to the register.<\/p>

Cecil said: “My family are from Jamaica, and unfortunately, people with Black Caribbean heritage have a harder time finding a match.<\/p>

“It\u2019s a big motivator or me to get my story out there and do what I can.<\/p>

“I want to break down that barrier for myself and for other people.”<\/p>

Finding a donor is closely linked to ethnic background, yet only 16 per cent of UK stem cell donors are from minority groups.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Cecil said: “For someone like me, finding a match isn\u2019t straightforward.<\/p>

“If I were from a white background, the chances would be much higher.<\/p>

“That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to get more people from Black communities to register.<\/p>

“I\u2019ve learned that a lot of people assume someone else will step forward, but it doesn\u2019t work without action.<\/p>

“We need more people to take that step.”<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Anyone aged 16 to 55 and in general good health can join the register by ordering a free swab kit from here<\/a>.<\/p>

Cecil said: “Someone out there could be a match for me, or for someone else in my position.<\/p>

“For a person to do that \u2013 to help someone they don\u2019t even know \u2013 is truly incredible.<\/p>

“That kind of generosity is something really special.”<\/p>

Most stem cell donations are non-surgical and similar to giving blood platelets.<\/p>

At any one time, around 2,000 people in the UK are waiting for a stem cell match.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Telecoms manager and father, Cecil from Rochdale, hopes the appeal will give him a second chance at life. He is working with charity DKMS to raise awareness after being diagnosed with secondary myelofibrosis, a serious form of blood cancer. Cecil Henry said: “As a father, I feel like I still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life - Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Telecoms manager and father, Cecil from Rochdale, hopes the appeal will give him a second chance at life. He is working with charity DKMS to raise awareness after being diagnosed with secondary myelofibrosis, a serious form of blood cancer. Cecil Henry said: “As a father, I feel like I still […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KKLTrust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T07:37:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T07:57:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"442\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kklttrust\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@kklttrust\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/person\/881d2712886b696377e9b55d6f8c4995\"},\"headline\":\"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T07:37:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T07:57:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841\"},\"wordCount\":439,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"news\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841\",\"name\":\"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life - Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T07:37:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T07:57:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png\",\"width\":853,\"height\":442},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/\",\"name\":\"Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust\",\"description\":\"We create awareness, educate, engage and offer support about Leukaemia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"kklt\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust\",\"alternateName\":\"KKLT\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-kevin-kararwa-leukaemia-trust.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-kevin-kararwa-leukaemia-trust.png\",\"width\":120,\"height\":118,\"caption\":\"Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KKLTrust\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/kklttrust\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kkltrust\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kevin-kararwa-leukaemia-trust-b44969219\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCE51yxZsX9jL4PqvvtYB7zQ\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/person\/881d2712886b696377e9b55d6f8c4995\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/812e11e45331ec7efdcee891a505af762f395158731553b05b00adcd6465a947?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/812e11e45331ec7efdcee891a505af762f395158731553b05b00adcd6465a947?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life - Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life","og_description":"Telecoms manager and father, Cecil from Rochdale, hopes the appeal will give him a second chance at life. He is working with charity DKMS to raise awareness after being diagnosed with secondary myelofibrosis, a serious form of blood cancer. Cecil Henry said: “As a father, I feel like I still […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841","og_site_name":"Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KKLTrust","article_published_time":"2026-04-25T07:37:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-25T07:57:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":853,"height":442,"url":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@kklttrust","twitter_site":"@kklttrust","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/person\/881d2712886b696377e9b55d6f8c4995"},"headline":"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life","datePublished":"2026-04-25T07:37:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T07:57:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841"},"wordCount":439,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png","articleSection":["news"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841","url":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841","name":"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life - Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png","datePublished":"2026-04-25T07:37:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T07:57:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Cecil-from-Rochdale.png","width":853,"height":442},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?p=12841#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rochdale father makes urgent appeal for stem cell donors to help save his life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/","name":"Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust","description":"We create awareness, educate, engage and offer support about Leukaemia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#organization"},"alternateName":"kklt","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#organization","name":"Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust","alternateName":"KKLT","url":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-kevin-kararwa-leukaemia-trust.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-kevin-kararwa-leukaemia-trust.png","width":120,"height":118,"caption":"Kevin Kararwa Leukaemia Trust"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KKLTrust","https:\/\/x.com\/kklttrust","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kkltrust\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kevin-kararwa-leukaemia-trust-b44969219\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCE51yxZsX9jL4PqvvtYB7zQ"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/person\/881d2712886b696377e9b55d6f8c4995","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/812e11e45331ec7efdcee891a505af762f395158731553b05b00adcd6465a947?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/812e11e45331ec7efdcee891a505af762f395158731553b05b00adcd6465a947?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12841"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12856,"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12841\/revisions\/12856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kkltrust.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}