A police officer has received a boost in his fight against leukaemia – just as he prepares to spearhead a campaign to recruit thousands of stem cell donors.
Inspector Rik Basra has been taken off all of the drugs which have been protecting him from infection ever since he underwent transplant surgery last December.
That means the 53-year-old will be totally drug-free for the first time in almost a year, and, after a precautionary wait of three weeks, will be able to go out and about in public.
Later this week, Rik and wife Kas will hold the first of a series of public events to recruit potentially life-saving blood stem cell donors to the national register, maintained by the Anthony Nolan charity.
The couple, whose work with the charity has already boosted the number of Asian people on the register by 1,000, now aim to add a further 3,000 people to it by March.
The first two recruitment events will take place at Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre, Rothley Street, on Sunday, November 4, and Tuesday, November 13, between 5.30pm and 9pm.
Rik wrote on his Facebook page this week: "Hi all, had some fantastic news today.
"Got taken off a shed load of drugs, including the last of the immune suppressants.
"It means I can go out and about in public very soon and my bedroom will stop looking like Boots the chemist. Oh no, I might have to do the shopping again."
Kas said yesterday: "When we think about where we were as a family a year ago, when we thought it was curtains for him, we realise what a long way we've come.
"Being taken off all of the drugs is a huge step forward. In another three weeks, there will be no stopping him.
"People of all faiths have been praying for him since this all began and he is making a textbook recovery.
"Now, we're determined to do everything we can to make sure the Anthony Nolan campaign is a success."
The couple began urging Asian people in Leicestershire and the wider Midlands to join the Anthony Nolan register last year, when Rik was still desperately searching for a suitable stem cell donor.
Eventually, a match for him was found in Germany, and the officer had a transplant of the donated cells in December.
The Basras went on to organise a series of recruitment events in Leicestershire and the West Midlands.
Before the Basras' efforts, Asians accounted for a tiny proportion – about 18,000 – of the people on the national Anthony Nolan database.
Almost all of the 1,000 additional people who signed up as a result of their events were Asian.
Ann O'Leary, head of register development at Anthony Nolan, said: "The impact that Rik and Kas have had on the numbers of Asian people joining the register has been absolutely phenomenal.
"Not only have we seen a 150 per cent increase year on year, but Asian people now account for 4.8 per cent of donors on our register, up from 4 per cent last year.
"Blood cancer patients from an Asian background only have a 40 per cent chance of finding a matching bone marrow donor on our register, but we know that we can improve this by recruiting more Asian donors – it's that simple.
"Everything that Rik and Kas have done – and continue to do – will help us save many more lives in years to come, and give hope to Asian blood cancer patients in the future."
Donated stem cells are fed into a patient's body via a blood transfusion. It is hoped the donated stem cells will help the patient's body build a healthy immune system that will be able to fight the cancer.
For more information on the Basras' campaign, e-mail:
kas.basra@gmail.com
For more on the register, visit:
www.anthonynolan. org/register
