The club is delighted to support this campaign – look out for our banner at the pitch shortly.Please also see below from Eimear’s dad, Séan –
Every 20 minutes in the UK someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer or blood disorder and for some patients their only chance of survival is stem cell transplant. With only a 30% chance of finding a match from a family member most will be reliant on a complete stranger having joined the Stem Cell Donor registry. Every year 33, people living in the North of Ireland need to find a non-related stem cell donor to have any chance of survival.
Fundamentally, the more donors we can get on board, the more hope we can create. And we are reaching out to you, and the wider sporting community, to ask for your help in our mission to find a lifesaving donor for every patient facing transplant.
We have organised a charity (Eimear’s Wish) to help promote stem cell donor awareness in all our communities in memory of our daughter Eimear who died on June 27th 2019, from complications of a Stem Cell transplant. Eimear’s final wishes to me was that:
- I tell the world that she beat cancer
- For me to get as many people as possible to join the Stem Cell Donor registry
Our campaign is growing in strength every day. And I am contacting you, in the hope that Antrim GAA will be joined up with the family of Eimear Smyth, to help them raise Stem Cell Donor Awareness in our within the wider Gaelic sports community, by encourage people to join the Stem Cell Donor registry and help us create Hope for patients whose only hope of survival from illnesses like blood cancer is a stranger donating their stem cells. in desperate need of a life-saving transplant.
We also particularly want to reach out to young men in 16-30 age group as they are more likely to be chosen to go on and donate but are significantly underrepresented on the register. There are many myths out there about what is involved in donating stem cells but, for 9 out of 10 donors, it involves a very simple out-patient procedure similar to giving blood – it really could be that simple to create Hope for someone with a life-threatening illness.
With your position at the heart of the Gaelic community, we hope you can see the amazing opportunity to work together to raise awareness of the need for Stem Cell donors and dispel some of the myths surrounding donation. There are likely to be many potential lifesavers amongst your players and members, we just need the opportunity to show them how.
We are always looking for opportunities to work with partners to amplify our message and save more lives. This may be by using your communication channels to spread the word, identifying an opportunity to host a donor recruitment information event.
We are currently working with four clubs in West Belfast, and we would love to further the opportunities for partnership with you, and to answer any questions you may have. Not only will it lead to creating Hope, but lives can be saved, the opportunity to create Hope for people with life threatening illness is something pretty amazing for all young people and is achievable regardless of academic achievements, social status or sporting prowess. I hope you agree this a prospect worth exploring.
Please watch Up-close. It’s very moving but positive and tells Eimear’s story.https://www.itv.com/utvprogrammes/articles/up-close-eimears-wish
News report on the launch of the football campaign:
You can donate here https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=HRUZNYYTY34JE