Luton Explorer Scout Leader is life-saving stem cell donor

A Luton Explorer Scout Leader has donated 15 million life-saving stem cells after a five hour procedure in a London hospital.

David Wood, 32, of Stokers Close has been Scouting for 27 years and is with Sells 7th Scout Group in Luton. He’s also a regular blood donor and a member of St John’s Ambulance. The community-minded father-of-two was given drugs over four days to boost his blood count beforehand which made his bones ache he said.

In a five-hour procedure in the London Clinic he donated over two pints of stem cells which gave him a mild dose of pins and needles while he was having the cells harvested.

But he was delighted to help save someone’s life and said he would do it again in a heartbeat. He said: “I was approached by the National Blood Transfusion Service as a perfect match to donate stem cells and I’ll be on call for the next two years.”

Everyone in Sells 7th Scout Group is extremely proud of David, including his wife Christine and parents Alan and Barbara who are all involved with the Scouting movement. He has also received backing from his Luton-based employer FPM Facility Management.

Read more at: http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/dunstable-scout-leader-is-multi-million-stem-cell-donor-1-7832590.