Senior Press Officer Sophie goes behind the scenes of our new campaign
Research shows that younger donors lead to better outcomes for stem cell transplant patients.
That’s why we launched Someone Like You, a campaign to inspire young people, especially young men (who we know are most often called upon to donate) to join the stem cell register.
Why are we targeting young people?
New Anthony Nolan statistics show that donors under 30 make up the vast majority (a whopping 75%) of those called upon to donate to UK patients. But we know under 30s make up just 40% of our register. That’s why we launched the Someone Like You campaign.
The importance of reaching young potential donors is something we have known for a while. It led to our historic decision to lower the register recruitment age from 18 to 16 in 2012, it informs our Hero Project and Marrow work across the country, and it inspired us to launch our cross-engagement Someone Like You campaign this month.
Reuben and Charlie’s stories: from patient appeals to fighting fit
As with all our work, it was vital for us to tell authentic stories and be led by our incredible storytellers. So, when it came to the Someone Like You campaign, we were drawn to Reuben and Charlie’s poignant stories, having previously worked with them to appeal for a matching stem cell donor.
Their stories were strikingly similar, having both been just 17 when they were diagnosed with the same rare blood disorder and the fact they had their stem cell transplants within three weeks of each other. Twinned with their passion for boxing and MMA and their incredible post-transplant recovery we felt their stories would resonate with and inspire a young male audience.
Reuben’s story
Reuben was only 17 when a five-day long nosebleed which started during an important boxing match led to a diagnosis of rare blood disorder aplastic anaemia.
Doctors said if he hadn’t come in for treatment, he would have had about two weeks to live.
Reuben and his family worked with Anthony Nolan to try to find a match but due to Reuben’s rare genetic makeup, there wasn’t a single match for him across the global stem cell register network.
Reuben’s blood cell and platelet levels were dangerously low so eventually doctors decided that the best course of action was for him to have a haploidentical transplant from his dad Dan.
Recovery was slow, he was in isolation for another year and was told by doctors that he would never box again.
Incredibly, Reuben, now 21, challenged himself to run the London Marathon a year after coming out of isolation, building up his resilience from being unable to get out of bed to running the London Marathon in an incredible three hours and thirty-four minutes.
But Reuben was still itching to prove doctors wrong and get back in the ring.
He had his first post-transplant fight in October 2024 and has gone onto win 10 out of 12 fights since, proudly wearing his nickname ‘Miracle’ on his shorts.
Charlie’s story
Like Reuben, Charlie was also only 17 when he was diagnosed with the two in a million-blood disorder aplastic anaemia.
Charlie was a chef in the navy at the time and his symptoms, which included extreme fatigue, brain fog and low mood, and led to his mum taking him to hospital, and for him being eventually diagnosed with aplastic anaemia.
His blood cell and platelet levels were so low that doctors said if he hadn’t come into hospital, he may not have made it through the night.
Fortunately, a donor was found through the Anthony Nolan register, the transplant was a success and his recovery went well. Charlie and his family hope to meet the German donor called Marcel who saved his life this summer.
Having always wanted to be a boxer Charlie recently pivoted more towards mixed martial arts (MMA) and is committed to training and getting back in the ring.
Since their transplants Reuben and Charlie have bravely shared their story to raise awareness of the rare condition, and of the lifesaving potential of stem cell transplants. So, when we contacted them to ask them to be the poster boys for our Someone Like You campaign, they both said yes!
Shoot Day
Charlie and his mum drove all the way from Cornwall to the outskirts of Reading to meet Reuben and his dad at Reuben’s local boxing gym on a grey Thursday in February.
We arranged for RAW, a production company we have worked with before, to gather content of the two boxers to capture the essence of their inspiring stories and their determination to get back to fighting fit.
Charlie and Reuben were interviewed about their experiences on camera and filmed training in the boxing gym. The content will go out on our socials in mid-March to appeal to a young audience and encourage more young people to sign up to the stem cell register and save a life like Charlie and Reuben’s.
We also arranged for a sports journalist from The Sun to come and interview Reuben and his dad with the journalist even remarking afterwards that it was one of her favourite interviews ever! Media coverage like this is vital in helping raise awareness of the stem cell register and encouraging more young people to sign up. You can read the piece, here.
It was an emotional day hearing Charlie’s mum and Ruben’s dad talk about their sons’ illness and the impact that treatment had on their families. Days like this where we have the privilege of hearing the incredible stories of our patients and families first hand compounds why our work to strengthen the stem cell register is so important.
Hearing Charlie’s mum and Reuben’s dad talk about the support and sense of community that Anthony Nolan gave them was also very special.
Since his transplant Reuben has competed in the British Transplant Games with Anthony Nolan, he’s been heavily involved in the Someone Like You Campaign to raise awareness of Anthony Nolan amongst young people and we even arranged for him to train with world champion boxer Anthony Crolla at his gym in Manchester – more content coming out on our socials soon!
What can I do?
Please reshare the Someone Like You content on our social media if you can.
You can watch Reuben and Charlie’s interviews here: Reuben, Charlie.