The family of a Wandsworth schoolgirl have launched an urgent appeal for more people to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register, after she was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder.
Sahara, a talented artist and musician, collapsed three days after her 13th birthday. Following emergency tests, she was diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia, a life-threatening blood disorder where bone marrow doesn’t produce enough new blood cells and platelets.
Sahara has Black Caribbean heritage with grandparents from Jamaica and Grenada. Black people are more likely to have unique tissue types (the collection of genes used to match patients and donors for transplant); this means it is harder to find fully matched unrelated donors for them.
That’s why her family are asking those eligible to sign up to the stem cell register, especially young people with Black heritage. The more people with Black heritage there are on the stem cell register, the better chances Black patients, like Sahara, have of finding their lifesaving match.
Since her diagnosis in April 2025, Sahara has had multiple blood and platelet transfusions. The teenager is currently receiving treatment at St George’s Hospital in Tooting and St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.
Sahara’s mum Satisha, 47 said: “I can only describe the last two months as two things: an alternate universe and hell on earth. To say it's been a challenge is putting it mildly and now we're potentially going down a road that we were not prepared for but don't have a choice for either.”
Since the news of Sahara’s diagnosis, the family have been through ups and downs. Satisha said: “I was told not to worry because there were two donors and they're both 10/10 matches. So, we were ecstatic.”
Unfortunately, the family were then told both donor options had fallen through. Satisha describes the current situation of looking for a new donor for her daughter who is an only child and therefore won’t have a stem cell donor match through a sibling as, “trying to find a needle in a haystack.”
Because there is no matching stem cell donor available Sahara will now have anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) treatment to help suppress her immune system, this treatment aims to allow the bone marrow to recover and produce healthy blood cells.
Satisha said, “Sahara needs a transplant as soon as possible. We have been told that there’s a 60 to 70 percent that the ATG will work but that’sjust to manage the severe aplastic anaemia. The stem cell transplant is the only way to cure her.”
Talking about her daughter’s creative talents Satisha said, “Sahara is an artist and at the age of 10 she had one of her pieces in Parliament and she has also seen her artwork displayed on a billboard for NSPCC all around London. She writes stories, she writes poetry, she plays guitar and violin. She's an all-round creative. Her aim is to study at BRIT School.”
Satisha has given up her work as a clinic manager to look after Sahara full time and is working with Anthony Nolan to raise awareness of the stem cell register and encourage more people to sign up, especially those with Black Caribbean heritage like Sahara.
Elana McIntyre, senior engagement manager at Anthony Nolan, says:
“For Black patients, like Sahara, the sad reality is that finding a match can be more difficult because they are more likely to have rare tissue types. Equity is an important focus of our work, and our teams work around the clock to support patients with no suitable matches on the stem cell register.
“We work in the community, and with partners, to spread the word about stem cell donation because it’s vital more young people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds sign up. Every single person that signs up to the Anthony Nolan register could give a patient like Sahara a second chance at life and the opportunity to thrive.”
Anthony Nolan is partnered with ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust), an inspiring charity committed to giving hope to people with blood cancer in need of a stem cell transplant.
Melissa Harvey, donor recruitment development officer at ACLT, says:
“Sahara’s story is devastating, but it is not unique. Every day, Black patients face the terrifying reality of searching for a donor who may never appear. This is not due to fate, it’s because not enough people from ethnic minority backgrounds are on the register.
At ACLT, our mission is to give hope and save lives by increasing the number of stem cell, blood, and organ donors from Black and ethnically diverse communities. We’re standing with Sahara’s family, the power to save lives like Sahara’s sits within our community.
If you’re Black and in good health, you could be her match. You could be her cure. Step up, so that Sahara can step in to her future.”
People aged 16-30, who are in good health can sign up to the Anthony Nolan register at anthonynolan.org/SaveSahara
Signing up to save a life like Sahara’s is quick, easy and free. Those eligible can fill in a form on the Anthony Nolan website and a swab kit will then be sent in the post. Once you’ve returned your swabs using the freepost envelope, you’ll be added to the stem cell register and Anthony Nolan will be in touch if you’re ever a potentially lifesaving match for someone.
ENDS
For more information, and to enquire about media interviews, please contact the Anthony Nolan press office using press@anthonynolan.org or 020 7424 1300.
Out of hours, contact the duty press officer on 07881 265 285.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Please note: Anthony Nolan changed its name in 2011 and is no longer known as Anthony Nolan Trust.
About Anthony Nolan
Anthony Nolan is a UK stem cell transplant charity with 50 years of expertise in uniting science and people to push the boundaries of what can be achieved for blood cancer and blood disorder patients.
Its world-leading stem cell register matches potential donors to patients in need of transplants. It carries out cell and gene therapy research to increase transplant success and supports patients through their transplant journeys.
Anthony Nolan helps four people in need of a transplant a day, giving more people a second chance at life. But the charity won’t stop until all patients have access to the treatment they need, so many more survive.
Stem cells hold enormous potential and have the power to help people with blood cancers and blood disorders. This potential inspires everything Anthony Nolan does. Driven by patients, backed by stem cell donors, and powered by science, the charity won’t stop until the lifesaving potential of the cells inside us all has been uncovered.
Join Anthony Nolan’s register or support its research. Together, with your help, Anthony Nolan can unlock the answers inside us anthonynolan.org
What is a stem cell transplant?
If a patient has a condition that affects their bone marrow or blood, then a stem cell transplant may be their best chance of survival. Doctors will give new, healthy stem cells to the patient via their bloodstream, where they begin to grow and create healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Key statistics
- Since it was founded by Shirley Nolan in 1974, Anthony Nolan has facilitated over 26,500 transplants for people around the world.
- The charity facilitates around 1,100 stem cell transplants from an unrelated donor every year for patients in the UK and more than 300 for patients abroad. For many, a transplant is their last chance of survival.
- Around 90% of donors donate through PBSC (peripheral blood stem cell collection). This is a simple, outpatient procedure. Donors are supported throughout the process by the Anthony Nolan team.
- Currently 14% of the UK Anthony Nolan stem cell register is made up of young men, but they account for more than half of people called upon to donate.
- There is a pressing need to recruit more people from diverse backgrounds to the Anthony Nolan register, to help more patients from minority ethnic backgrounds find the lifesaving matches they need.
- Blood cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer in the UK and the third biggest cancer killer. It accounts for 9% of all new cases of cancer diagnosed in the UK.
- Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited blood disorders that affect the red blood cells in your body.
- It mostly affects people from African and Caribbean backgrounds and can be diagnosed soon after birth.
- People with SCD produce red blood cells in the shape of a ‘sickle’. These unhealthy cells stick together and get stuck in blood vessels, blocking the flow of healthy blood cells, which can cause various health complications and acute pain episodes
- To join the Anthony Nolan register, you must be 16-30 and healthy. Anthony Nolan’s world-leading Research Institute has shown younger donors offer better survival rates for patients.