The process was so easy, and everyone at Anthony Nolan was really friendly. First, they came to my house and took some blood to make sure I was in good health. A few weeks later, I went to Nottingham Hospital to meet the team that would be there on the day of my donation and for them to talk me through how the day would go (they check every step of the way that you still want to do it - and they are really clear that you can pull out at any time). Then, on the 22 December, it was donation day.

They hooked up to the machine that takes the blood – basically some blood out of one arm, stem cells extracted from my blood in the big machine, then blood minus stems cells back in through the other arm. They said a relatively small amount of stem cells are taken compared to how many are in your body, and the ones that were taken would be replaced naturally by your body within a really short amount of time. On the day of the donation, it took about 5 to 6 hours of me being hooked up to the machine. People have asked me if it hurts, but it wasn’t too bad, it's just like having an injection, and then you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day.

That's it - that's all there is to it ... and then afterwards, I was holding my life-saving stem cells. They said the person would receive my stem cells pretty quickly (within days) and that I could meet the person (if I wanted to and if the person was ok with it) but not for two years. In the meantime, the team at Anthony Nolan would give me updates on how the person was getting on, if I wanted them to.

I really hope they (and their family) are doing well! And I am looking forward to hearing all about it.

Sign-up, and save a life, I really recommend it!

Oscar, Upper Sixth