Cancer patient Michael Kyriacos Efstratiou was told stem cell treatment is only option but Greek Cypriot heritage makes it difficult to find a match

Michael Kyriacos Efstratiou (right) with daughter Ellianna

A Winchmore Hill driving instructor diagnosed with a rare blood cancer is urgently appealing to the Cypriot community to come forward as potential stem cell donors.

Michael Kyriacos Efstratiou was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) just before Christmas and told that he urgently needs a stem cell transplant.

The 64-year-old was told that there were no treatment options other than a stem cell transplant from a matching donor. Having discovered that his Greek Cypriot heritage makes it even harder to find a match, Michael and his family are calling on more people to sign up to the stem cell register – from the Cypriot community and beyond.

Daughter Ellianna Efstratiou has been working with stem cell transplant charity Anthony Nolan to raise awareness of their situation and encourage people to join the register and potentially save a life.

“It was a big shock to my dad, it’s made him quite anxious, especially when the doctor said he needs a donor,” Ellianna said.

“It’s sort of like a waiting game. We feel a lot of it now is on us and it’s making us want to drive this even more. It’s not just helping your own family; you’re helping others who need a match. There are so many people in the community and across the world that need this support.”

Michael and his family, who are of Greek Cypriot heritage, are encouraging people in the British Cypriot diaspora and beyond to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register. They hope that with more potential donors on the register, more blood cancer and blood disorder patients will be able to find a lifesaving match.

People from different parts of the world can have a different chance of finding a matching unrelated donor. This is because you can be more likely to have a rare tissue type if your ancestry is from particular regions of the world.

“By sharing my story, I want to raise awareness and it’s not just about finding a match for me. The more people there are on the register, the more others could be helped in the future,” Michael added.

Rowena Bentley, head of programme and community recruitment at Anthony Nolan, said: “Blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK and more than 16,000 people lose their lives to it every year. But many of us won’t have heard of stem cell transplants as a treatment.

“That’s why it’s vital that people like Michael share their story, so we can continue to raise awareness of stem cell donation, encourage more people to join the register, and ultimately save more lives.

“Anthony Nolan research shows that younger stem cell donors give patients the best chance of survival, that’s why we’re calling on healthy 16–30-year-olds to join the register. The more matches we can make, the more lives we can save.”

People who are unable to join the Anthony Nolan register, or are aged 31 and over, can support the charity’s work financially. It costs £40 to add each new potential lifesaver to the register, which covers recruiting a donor, collecting their sample, and analysing it to find out their tissue type.

Rowena added: “If you can’t join the register, please think about supporting Anthony Nolan financially. Your contribution will mean we can support families before, during, and after transplant, and continue our pioneering research into saving lives through stem cells.”

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