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Brave Mum Loses fight with Leukaemia

A Croydon mum whose family tried desperately to battle against the odds to find a matching bone marrow donor has died.

Fifty-three-year-old Hardish Bakshi from Sanderstead had been battling acute myeloid leukaemia since July 2006.

Despite months of gruelling chemotherapy and a successful stem cell transplant, Hardish passed away on March 24 after contracting an infection.

This week her family said they were absolutely distraught and shocked by what had happened.

Hardish's son Pavan said: "The family fought to get her the drug myloparg which, at first, was refused to us. Then she had the stem cell transplant. She'd actually beaten cancer. The doctor sent a letter saying she was one of the bravest women he had met."

Despite a successful transplant operation, which was performed on Hardish's birthday on January 22, the mum of three contracted PTP, an infection which affects the liver and the production of platelets. She died in the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton.


As part of their campaign, Hardish's family organised a blood donor session at the Nanak Community Centre in Croydon to find a suitable bone marrow match from the Indian and south Asian community.

According to the Anthony Nolan Trust less than three per cent of registered potential donors are Asian.

But despite not finding a match for their mum during the drive, the family's campaign did pair up another cancer sufferer and a suitable bone marrow match.

Pavan added: "This was something that was a real surprise to us because everything had gone so well.

"Leukaemia is a vicious type of cancer. As the Asian community grows bigger, the chance somebody will be affected by this or any type of cancer or disease that involves a transplant, will get bigger. If people remain blind and say this won't happen to me it won't help."

Pavan and his sisters, Tavneet and Sukheev, are planning to do more work to encourage more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to come forward as blood and organ donors.

G The above information is taken from the website of the Croydon Guardian


Details of the original appeal for Hardish appear below:


Appeal to Asian Community

A SOUTH London family is desperately trying to find a bone marrow donor to save a dying mother.

The family from Sanderstead, Croydon, are battling against a lack of Asian blood and organ donors to help Hardish Bakshi.

The 52-year-old was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in July this year and recently underwent a third round of gruelling chemotherapy which failed to combat the disease.

Recently Hardish's son Pavan, 29, organised a donor session at the Nanak Community Centre in Croydon to find a suitable bone marrow match from the Indian and south Asian community.


"It was amazing," he said, "We had people from every religion and creed and literally everybody was overwhelmed."

Pavan said 84 people were tested on the day and up to 200 people - from young people to grandparents - filled out forms.

"People we didn't know turned up. Some had just read the Croydon Guardian and wanted to come along. We had lots of well-wishers and it just goes to show that you can mobilise people for a good cause - you just have to educate them."

It will be up to eight weeks before the family find out whether a suitable match has been found for their mother.


In the meantime Pavan, who has returned from New York to care for Hardish, with his sisters Tavneet and Sukheev has been looking elsewhere for suitable treatment.

He explained: "We're trying to see what other trials are out there. I'm in India now to see if we can do anything else with regards to alternative therapies. Even if it doesn't help my family, it will doubtless help others."

There is a shortage of donors from ethnic minority communities and Pavan wants that to change.

A spokesperson for the Anthony Nolan Trust - a bone marrow donor register - said: "We have a shortage of all donors from all backgrounds. Less than three per cent of our donors are Asian so we urgently need people to come forward."

Pavan believes education will help the fight for more donors from ethnic minorities. He added: "Cancer doesn't just affect white people - it doesn't matter what colour or creed you are.

"The family are all strong and we're just searching and trying to find the right treatment for her."


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