Bone marrow donations: Pontypool family saves three lives

Finding three donors in one family is "astonishing" said the head of the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry

Three generations of the same family have donated life-saving bone marrow after being the only matches for three strangers across the globe.

Allan Taylor, 65, his son Chris, 33, and grandson Corey, 25, from Pontypool, Torfaen, saved the lives of patients from Africa, America and Europe.

The Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry said it was "simply astonishing".

To mark World Bone Marrow Donor Day, the Taylors are asking 17 to 30-year-olds to join the registry.

"I'm so proud of myself and my family," said Allan.

"It felt great knowing my son and my grandson were doing the same thing."

Chris Taylor, who spoke to BBC Wales with his dad and nephew, has recently become a father and understands just how important it is to help other families in need.

"I am a big Superman fan so I've always dreamed of being a superhero," he said.

"I can't fly but I was able to save a life by giving my bone marrow - it's as close as I'll ever get to being a hero!"

What is bone marrow and what does it do?

Bone marrow is the soft, spongy tissue found at the centre of certain bones in the body where blood stem cells live. Blood stem cells produce all your essential blood cells, such as red blood cells to carry oxygen and white blood cells to fight infection.

Diseases such as some forms of leukaemia stop bone marrow working properly. For these patients, the best hope of recovery is to receive a bone marrow transplant.

Last year 50,000 donations were made from about 40 million volunteers internationally and three in 10 patients will never find a life-saving donor.

Chris Harvey, head of the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry, said: "The likelihood of one family member being chosen as a match for a patient is extremely rare.

"For two members of the same family to be matched is almost unheard of and for three members of the same family to each have been chosen as the ideal matches for patients in three different continents is simply astonishing.

"The Taylors really are a family of lifesavers."

What is it like to donate bone marrow?

The process involves drawing blood out of one arm, extracting the stem cells, before returning the remaining blood to the other arm.

Donors typically return to normal activity a day or two following the donation.

Chris, who is Corey's uncle, said: "The procedure, which lasted about four hours, was absolutely fine.

"After my donation I stayed for about 30 minutes, had a cup of tea and then I went home. I rested over the weekend and was straight back to work on the Monday."

Donors can join the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry by calling the Welsh Blood Service on 0800 252 266.