Sheffield student getting hip tattoo in aid of blood cancer charity

Erin Dunn, 23, is getting a tattoo to raise £1000 for blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan on behalf of Sheffield Marrow.

Erin has been a part of Sheffield Marrow, the University of Sheffield’s branch of Anthony Nolan, for four years. Each year the society raises funds for charity and awareness to get people to sign up for the stem cell register and this year Erin is taking it one step further.

At the end of October, she’ll be getting a tattoo of the Marrow logo on her hip. This comes as a part of the ‘Donating Isn’t Scary’ campaign, where campaigners do things that are seen as scary, to show that signing up the stem cell register isn’t.

“Anthony Nolan is really important to me. Something that seems so little as filling in a form could save someone’s life. As a medicine student I see how it helps real people.

“I’m nervous about getting the tattoo as I don’t have many others but I’m also excited to be doing it for this charity. It’s the most outrageous thing I could think of to do because it’s so permanent. I want to show people that getting a tattoo hurts more than donating stem cells and it’s not as scary as it seems. My friends and family were shocked when they found out but they know how passionate I am about the cause” said Erin.

The group wants to raise awareness that only one per cent of people that sign up to the stem cell register are actually matched to someone to donate in their lifetime.That’s a one in 100 chance.

If you are matched to someone, 90 per cent of the time it will be a process similar to donating blood. Only ten per cent of the time do donors undergo a procedure to donate.

The procedure is done on the hip and general anaesthetic is used and you’re asleep so it’s not as scary as it seems. This is why Erin chose to get the tattoo on her hip, which will be around 5cm.

The fundraising page states: “Every 14 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer. For someone with blood cancer, a stem cell transplant could be their last chance of survival. At Anthony Nolan, we match incredible people willing to donate their stem cells, to people with blood cancer who are in desperate need of a lifesaving transplant. Marrow now recruit one in four people who go on to donate stem cells, which means hundreds of lives are potentially saved by Marrow’s incredible work.”

If you want to donate or sign up to the stem cell register, the link to Erin’s campaign is here:https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/donatingisntscary