A mother of twins needs a blood stem cell transplant in her critical fight against cancer.

Meena Kumari-Sharma, 42, loved long weekend trips with her friends and family but her life changed early last year when she was diagnosed with leukaemia.

The mum, whose family lives in St Albans, was initially responding well to treatment but she received the shattering news in March 2018 that she had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia – and she needs a blood stem cell transplant.

Meena did receive positive news towards the end of last year after doctors were able to control the leukaemia and she now has the chronic leukaemia left.

Hillingdon Times:

She is currently taking chemotherapy tablets to try and kill off the rest of the leukaemia.

But due to Meena’s Punjabi background, her search for a blood stem cell match has become a lot more difficult.

The probability of finding a matching blood stem cell donor is even lower for those of diverse black, Asian and mixed race ethnicity. The shortage of registered BAME donors means that BAME patients have only a 20 per cent chance of finding a match, compared to 69% from northern Europeans background.

Supported by blood cancer charity DKMS, Meena began touring the country in a drive to find more donors from diverse backgrounds but so far, she has not found what she is looking for.

Hillingdon Times:

Meena said: “I do still need to find a donor. Ideally, we will find someone with as close to 100 per cent match as me as possible. They need to be the same sort of heritage mix as myself.”

Meena has moved up to Leicester for treatment but her two five-year-olds and their dad remain in St Albans, where they moved to in 2010.

“I just want to get back to my normal life and be with my children on a daily basis. I’m stuck in Leicester until I get this transplant.”

Despite not being successful so far in her search, Meena is encouraging people to register as a possible stem donor.

DKMS is dedicated to the fight against blood cancer. If you’re 17 – 55 (and in general good health) take the first step go to DKMS to register as a potential stem donor. Register at dkms.org.uk

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Also visit https://www.facebook.com/match4meena/