Julian Maurer’s bone marrow donation came out of the blue as he had only recently relocated to the UK, after spending several years overseas with his family.
‘I joined the bone marrow register back in 2001 after hearing about an appeal for a Jewish patient in our community. I had actually come up as a potential match previously, so when we moved to Israel, I let Anthony Nolan know I was out of the country’, Julian said.
Julian and his family (pictured right, photo taken by Freidy Klein) decided to return to the UK in March 2012. ‘It was a difficult decision’, he said, ‘and it took several months to settle back into UK life and unpack the belongings we’d put into storage. It was at this point I found my old wallet with my Anthony Nolan donor card inside.’
Julian rang Anthony Nolan and thought little of it, but just two weeks letter he received a call to say he was a match for a patient in Europe who needed a lifesaving bone marrow transplant.
Blood tests confirmed Julian was the best possible match and his donation went ahead successfully in one of our London donor centres.
Talking about his experience, he said: ‘The whole thing was rather strange – to have potentially saved someone’s life and to be back to work and normal family life the next day took some adjustment. I just happen to have been gifted with a special tissue type which matched a patient and thankfully I joined the Anthony Nolan register when I had the chance.’
Julian’s donation fitted around the family’s plans for his son’s bar mitzvah. ‘I was keen to spend time talking about my experience during Natan’s bar mitzvah’, Julian said. ‘I know that Anthony Nolan needs more Jewish people to join the register as you are most likely to match someone with a similar heritage. I feel hugely lucky to have been able to give this person a last chance of life and I think it’s incredibly important we raise awareness about the need for more potential donors to come forward.’
Lynsey Dickson, Regional Recruitment Manager at Anthony Nolan, said: ‘Julian’s experiences show how simple it is to donate bone marrow to potentially save the life of a patient in desperate need. We urgently need more Jewish people to come forward, as the chances of finding a match if you have a Jewish or other minority ethnic background is just 40%. Our aim is to find a matching donor for every patient who needs one.’
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