'My heritage is rare, but I need to find someone like me or I might not make it - please help'

A woman who mistook cancer symptoms as an after effect of her gym routine is urgently searching for a stem cell donor after her illness relapsed.

Asia Sharif, 27, initially mistook the signs of her illness for gym-related aches. Now, she is on an urgent mission to find a stem cell donor after her cancer came back.

Diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, Asia was considered in remission in April 2024 but soon faced the devastating news of a relapse. The software engineer is originally from Liverpool but now lives in Deansgate in Manchester city centre.

She is undergoing chemotherapy at The Christie and has been told that a stem cell transplant could be critical for her survival. But her rare half-Somalian, half-Moroccan heritage, means finding a matching donor should she need that transplant is difficult.

READ MORE: 'Flooded floors, collapsed ceilings, buildings condemned... and no money to fix it'

In response to this, Asia, alongside the Anthony Nolan charity, has initiated the 'Register for Asia' campaign, aiming to motivate young individuals aged 16-30 from diverse backgrounds to join the stem cell registry. "It can be harder for people like me, who are from minority ethnic backgrounds, to find a match, that's why I'm sharing my story, and hoping to inspire people to register," she urged earlier this year.

"If you're matched with someone in need, your stem cells could literally save their life. There are lots of good people in the world who genuinely want to make a difference and I think this is one way to really do that. It's a blessing to save a life."

Asia, who took up coding in the midst of the pandemic and has since become a software engineer at NatWest, began experiencing symptoms including persistent itchiness back in November 2021. She initially attributed it to her exercise regimen.

"Before I got sick, I was just a normal person," she recounted. "I just enjoyed going to the gym, doing Pilates, walking in nature.

"Every weekend I would go to the mountains with my foster brother. I was itching like a crazy person, 24/7. I had bruises all over my body - black bruises, purple bruises, pink bruises.

Now, Asia is continuing her campaign to encourage more people to join the stem cell donor register, offering hope to people with blood cancers or disorders who need a stem cell transplant.

Asia has organised a special 'stem cell donor drive' on October 20 in Manchester city centre for blood cancer charity DKMS, the holder of the UK's largest register of potential donors. Asia is especially keen to encourage people of dual or ethnic minority heritage to sign up, as they are currently under-represented on the register. This leaves patients of such backgrounds – like Asia herself – facing longer waits to find a compatible donor match.

Asia added: "My illness has tested my resilience and resolve in ways I never imagined. Please get involved. To save a life is like saving the whole of humanity."

Yasmin Sheikh, Anthony Nolan's head of policy and public affairs, highlighted the unique challenges faced by patients like Asia from diverse backgrounds: "For patients from mixed and minority ethnic backgrounds like Asia, finding a match can be more difficult because they are more likely to have rare tissue types.

"That's why it's vital that more young people from minority ethnic backgrounds sign up to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register because every single person that signs up could give a patient like Asia a second chance at life.

"As a charity we're also working hard on other actions that could help more patients access life-saving treatment, such as partnering with international registers and accelerating research into new treatments."

DKMS spokesperson Deborah Hyde says: "If you are found to be a match for someone needing a transplant, then in nine out of ten cases, donating your stem cells is a simple process similar to giving blood. Every 20 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer, so you could be giving someone a second chance at life."

Registering as a stem cell donor is a quick and easy process involving a simple mouth swab, offering hope to blood cancer patients who are still urgently in need of a compatible stem cell match. If you are aged 17-55 and in general good health, you're eligible to join the DKMS register.

Asia's event will take place on Sunday, October 20, from 9am to 5pm, at All Together Otherwise, 6-10 Hanover Street, Manchester, M4 4BB.

Anyone unable to attend the event at All Together Otherwise can request a swab kit online at dkms.org.uk

To learn more or join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register, visit: https://www.anthonynolan.org/registerforasia.