Video plea from Solihull cancer victim Ulrika Dandekar for stem cell donor as time runs out: A brave cancer victim with only days left to live last night renewed calls for people to donate life-saving stem cells in a selfless bid to save others. Ulrika Dandekar, 21, known as Riya, has moved into the Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull after being told she only has a week or two left to live. But the inspirational youngster, who launched an appeal to get the nation signing up to the bone marrow register after discovering 15 cancerous lumps in her body in September, is still fighting for others from her death bed. Despite a donor being found for her, the rare type of blood cancer she is suffering from never went into remission and the operation could not go ahead. She was too weak to talk after months of gruelling chemotherapy and more than eight cycles of radiotherapy at Heartlands Hospital. HOW YOU CAN HELP * If you want to join the donor register and are aged 16-30 contact Anthony Nolan on 0303 303 0303 or anthonynolan.org * Those aged 16-49 can contact the British Bone Marrow Registry on 0300 123 23 23 or nhsbt.nhs.uk/bonemarrow * You can also give a mouth swab if you are aged between 18-55 to Delete Blood Cancer, by calling 0203 1767620.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 18:07:28 +0000