A devoted Arsenal supporter from London has helped save the life of a stranger during the same week his club secured a long-awaited league title.
Thomas Alexander Apthorp, 28, donated his stem cells after being identified as a match for someone in urgent need of a stem cell transplant through charity Anthony Nolan, sacrificing his chance to join fellow fans celebrating Arsenal’s first league title in 22 years.
Thomas Alexander Apthorp said: “Donating my stem cells in the same week as Arsenal winning the league for the first time in 22 years was a special and emotional moment. A lot of pride, both in myself and for my club. Yes, I couldn’t join the crowds outside the Emirates but knowing that those hopefully life-saving cells were on their way to someone in need by the time the final whistle was blown at the Vitality meant I could breathe a big sigh of relief. In the words of Declan Rice…. it was done. Of course, after relief came the joy of celebrating with everyone else, messaging fellow Arsenal fans and watching videos of the community come together, as it always does.”
Thomas first joined the Anthony Nolan stem cell register 10 years ago while studying Classics at the University of Oxford. The charity had visited the university as part of its Match4Lara campaign; inspired by a student with a mixed White-Asian background whose heritage made it harder to find a matching donor.
The campaign struck a personal chord with Thomas, who also has a mixed White-Asian heritage. People from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to have rarer tissue types, which can make it significantly harder to find a matching stem cell donor for patients in need of a transplant.
Apthorp added: “Every Arsenal fan is familiar with the word ‘hope’. Maybe you love it or maybe you became sick of it as seasons rolled by without a major trophy. But it was the relief and joy built on years of hope that made Tuesday night so powerful. None of us looking back over the memories of those 22 years will think that it wasn’t worth it. Hope has made this journey special.
“Stem cell registers, like Anthony Nolan, give hope to thousands of people and I’d encourage everyone in the Arsenal and wider football community who is able, to think about registering. Doing so could give another person a chance to watch another match, celebrate another title with the rest of us, or spend time with the people they love. You can give them hope of a life of memories.”
Rowena Bentley, Head of Programme and Community at Anthony Nolan, said:
“Thomas is an inspiration, just as Arsenal’s historic victory has inspired so many fans this week. While others were celebrating a moment they had waited decades for, Thomas made an extraordinary sacrifice to give someone in desperate need the hope of a second chance at life.
“Every day, people with blood cancer and blood disorders rely on strangers like Thomas to say yes to becoming a stem cell donor. We urgently need more young people aged 16–30 to join the register, especially those from minority ethnic backgrounds, who are often underrepresented and can face longer waits to find a matching donor. If you’re eligible, please sign up today, you could one day save a life.”
To register for the Anthony Nolan stem cell register, sign up today via the website: https://www.anthonynolan.org/help-save-a-life/join-stem-cell-register
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 over 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 28,400 transplants for people around the world.
- The charity facilitates around 1,200 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.
- 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.
- To join the Anthony Nolan register, you must be 16-30. Anthony Nolan’s world-leading Research Institute has shown younger donors offer better survival rates for patients.