Colleagues of a man who needs a life-saving stem cell transplant have launched a search to find a donor after being told they are too old to be eligible.
Dave Reynolds, who will be 50 in May, is undergoing treatment for aggressive Non-Hodgkin lymphoma at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital.
Doctors have told the BT investigations manager from Port Seton, East Lothian, that his brother, sister and two of his three sons are his best chance of a successful transplant.
Tests have been carried out on family members this week but it will be around four weeks until the results are known.
Mr Reynolds’s colleagues wanted to volunteer for testing but as they are all aged over 40 they are not eligible.
They are now asking local people to come forward and register in a bid to find a match.
My only hope is a stem cell donor. It’s getting close to being my ‘last chance saloon’.
In the past year, Mr Reynolds has had several types of chemotherapy, with one strong dose leaving him in a coma for five days.
He said: “I went to sleep and didn’t wake up. The consultant prepared my wife Dian for the worst. Luckily, I came back.
“But now my only hope is a stem cell donor. It’s getting close to being my ‘last chance saloon’.
“Anyone who registers as a donor won’t just potentially be helping me – they could be ‘the one’ who can save the life of anyone else in this situation.
“The more names there are on the register, the greater the chances of a match.”
Friend John Sime said: “Dave is a fantastic colleague and we were all devastated to hear his bad news.
“He’s undergone some brutal treatment in the last year and now a donor is his best chance.
“We got in touch with the Anthony Nolan Trust and British Bone Marrow Registry. But unfortunately, we’re all on the wrong side of 40, so are too old to register.
“We hope that by sharing his story, someone might be able to help.”
