DKMS, a blood cancer charity dedicated to the fight against blood cancer, is celebrating two best friends from Holsworthy and Appledore, who against all odds were each identified as a match for two people with blood cancer, in urgent need of a blood stem cell transplant.

Emma Francis, 43, from Holsworthy, and Kelly Roach, 40, from Appledore, met in 1991 and became firm friends at school, remaining close ever since.

In 2008, Emma’s father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Fortunately it was caught at an early stage, and 11 years later he remains in remission. This inspired Emma to become involved with DKMS and join the UK’s aligned stem cell registry.

Emma said: “I remember looking in the mirror doing my swabs, wondering if this would be a life line for somebody. I just had a weird feeling about it, it’s like I knew.”

Her instinct proved correct, because despite there only being a 4% to 5% chance of registered donors being matched with someone with an identical tissue type, Emma received a call from DKMS just a few months later informing her she had been matched with a patient in New Zealand, who was in desperate need of a blood stem cell transplant.

“I was totally overwhelmed. It was a really strange mixture of feelings — on the one hand so sad that somebody was in a desperate need of help, but I was so excited that I could potentially offer them the help they need.”

Following her donation, Emma took to Facebook to encourage her friends and family to also consider registering with DKMS to become potential lifesavers. A number of her friends and family signed up, including her best friend of nearly 30 years, Kelly Roach.

Incredibly, just three months after signing up, Kelly too was matched with a patient, this time a young child needing an urgent transplant, and shortly afterwards she attended the London clinic to donate her blood stem cells.

Kelly said: “Emma was the first person I called and said, ‘Guess who I just had a call from?’ Emma came with me to London on donation day, I wouldn’t want to have taken anybody else. We are best friends and have a really special bond.

“People have said to me that it’s such an amazing thing to do, but when I hear about small children who have been in and out of hospital for weeks, months, or years on end, affecting their whole family, I don’t consider taking a day out of my life to be a huge sacrifice.

“I was so shocked that only 2% of the UK’s population were on the registry. I didn’t ever want to be in the position where it was me, or my child, or a member of my family in need of a donor, and having not registered myself.”

Helen Kelly, head of donor request management at DKMS, said: “Once registered, there’s only a small chance of being found to be a match for someone in need. So it’s extraordinarily rare for two best friends to both be called upon to give a donation. We are so thankful to Emma and Kelly, and delighted that they were able to support each other and share in the unique experience of giving two people in need a second chance at life.”

Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Many people never find the lifesaving blood stem cell donor match they need. This isn’t because a match doesn’t exist, it’s simply because there aren’t enough people registered as donors.

To register one potential blood stem cell donor costs £40. DKMS relies on monetary donations to help cover this cost.

Those aged between 17 and 55 and in general good health, can take the first step to register as a blood stem cell donor by requesting a home swab kit at dkms.org.uk.