What it's like to donate: Andrew Parry

Andrew Parry, 23, is at RAF Brize Norton. He signed up in July 2011.

‘A sergeant here at Brize Norton had had cancer and needed help from Anthony Nolan. He held a recruitment event, and that’s how I got involved.

‘I just thought it could be my chance to save someone’s life… I thought, I can do something above and beyond and actually help someone.

‘It was only a couple of months after that I got the letter through saying I was a match. My first reaction was, ‘Oh God’. There was a little bit of shock – not because I didn’t want to do it, but because I just wasn’t expecting it.

‘Anthony Nolan asked me if I wanted to continue and said that I needed to go through more tests to see how much of a match I was.

‘I spoke to the sergeant here and told him what had happened. He said ‘Look, it’s completely up to you, but I got help through [Anthony Nolan] and I’m still alive now because of someone else who was in your position’. I thought ‘well, I might as well go through with it and see what happens next’.

‘After giving some blood samples I got another letter from Anthony Nolan saying I was enough of a match, and that if I was still prepared to go ahead they would arrange for me to go down to London. Work gave me light duties either side of the donation to make it easier for me and let my body recover.

‘The sergeant was really supportive. He gave me loads of advice and helped me get the time off I needed to donate. While I was getting my fourth injection I was thinking: this is it, tomorrow I’m donating!

‘The donation itself was a bit nerve-wracking. It isn’t too painful, but the problem is that I have a fear of needles!

‘I would do it again. I think it’s a worthwhile thing to do. It’s something people should get involved in – they might never get the call but if they do, they could be saving someone’s life.

‘People should definitely do it. There’s no pain involved, and even with a fear of needles it’s pretty painless. And afterwards you get some scones, which is nice.’

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