A North Shields man is set to take on a 100km ultra-marathon, eight years after he had a lifesaving stem cell transplant. Matty Cragg, who describes the procedure as "the greatest gift I'll ever get" and a "second chance at life", is taking on the challenge for blood cancer charity DKMS UK.
Diagnosis and a perfect donor match
After being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma aged 25, Matty, now 37, had been seriously unwell for years. He said: "A complete stranger in Germany joined the stem cell register and turned out to be my perfect donor match, after I had spent years seriously unwell with Hodgkin's lymphoma."
"Because of that one selfless decision, I'm here today, and since then, I've travelled the world and experienced a life I once wasn't sure I'd have. Running 100km from Bamburgh Castle to Tynemouth Priory on October 24, starting at 5am, will be a huge challenge, but every step will be a reminder of what one stem cell donor made possible."
Fundraising and family support
Matty will be raising money for DKMS, the blood cancer charity that helped him find his donor, and encouraging more people to join the stem cell donor register. He said: "By making a donation or joining the register, you could be somebody's second chance."
Just one in three patients find a matching stem cell donor within their own family, with this often the only possibility for treatment. Matty said: "Four of my mates are going to do the full run with me, and my mum Linda has just got into running. She's 69 and she recently did our first 10K, I was so proud of her, and now she's going to do the first 5K and the last 5K with me."
He added: "And there's my nephew James, I've got pictures of him when I was in hospital before my transplant eight years ago, and I look so ill. He was only a baby and me and him were both completely bald: it was just not a good time. But now he's running 5K to practice, and along with my niece Beatrice, they'll be running on 24 October with their Uncle Matty too!"
Training and impact
Matty had only ever run 30km in one go before he started training, but had completed in the World Transplant Games and this year's Great North Run. He said: "I want to make as big an impact as I can on this challenge. Thanks to my stem cell transplant, I've built eight years of memories I never thought I'd get to make, I want other people with blood cancers or disorders to have that chance too."
Deborah Hyde, a spokesperson for DKMS UK, said: "Matty is living proof of the priceless gift that stem cell donation can give. We're so grateful to him and all our amazing fundraisers and supporters, they're part of a worldwide chain of hope for people waiting to find their stem cell donor match."
To help Matty reach his £8,000 fundraising target, donations can be made via his page on the DKMS UK website, and those wishing to join the stem cell donor register can order a free mouth swab kit.
