A mother’s mission
Birmingham-based mum offers a second chance at life to a patient in need of a stem cell transplant.
Meet Kam, a devoted mother of two who skilfully manages multiple roles. She serves as the interim director at a sustainability charity, pouring her heart into her work. Kam also teaches yoga, runs meditation classes, and provides coaching. Her journey as a donor was sparked by a deeply personal drive.
She shares: “My main reason to become a donor is that my son Rajan has a rare blood disorder. For 20 years, he has relied on monthly blood transfusions.
“Also, being from an Indian background I knew it was important for me to register. Stem cell donation can be seen as a taboo in the community but it is important that we change this.
“I signed up with DKMS back in 2020 – I attended a community charity event where DKMS was running a stall.
“Four years later, I received a call from DKMS to say I was a match – it was definitely a surprise! It hadn’t been on my radar really. But the call was really reassuring.
The donation processes
“Everything was well explained and I felt completely comfortable. At my medical examination, the nurses were lovely and welcoming.
“Fortunately, my older son is a pharmacist so he helped me with the GCSF injections. By the third day, I did experience back pain but I spoke to the nurse and she reassured me this was a good thing – it just meant the GCSF was doing its job ready for my donation.
“The whole experience felt very professional and I was well looked after. My life is usually very busy so it was nice to have some time to myself – I was even treated to a three-course lunch!
"The donation was quite emotional for me. It made me realise what my son goes through each month – having to undergo monthly transfusions himself. It made me feel very empathic for him and I had a better understanding of what he goes through.
Coming back to kindness
“I know a few general details about my patient – I know it’s a man in Canada and I can write him a card for the moment. I would love to be able to connect in the future. I think I will always be curious about him.
“We live in a world where there ’s so much darkness and tragedy – we need to come back to our human nature and kindness. If you can help someone out there, then why wouldn’t you?
“There is magic in the world – there’s community and connection – that’s what being a stem cell donor is all about.”
Get involved
Kam’s inspiring story highlights the urgent need for more stem cell donors, particularly from Indian and south Asian backgrounds, as people of these heritages are currently under-represented on the register. You can make a difference by registering with DKMS and encouraging others to do the same. Join our mission to bring hope to people living with blood cancer and blood disorder.
