How can I help save someone's life?

As you may know, on the 31st of January 2013, a complete stranger's stem cells were being dripped into my bloodstream. The hope being that once they had taken over the production of my blood, I might have an immune system that was capable of curing my Hodgkin's Lymphoma. A few months later, that hope was shown to be the reality by a PET-CT scan, and, just over a year further down the line, that is still the case. It hasn't been the smoothest of journeys, but I'm here to tell the tale, and in all likelihood that's only because an act of kindness from a complete stranger saved my life!

You could be the complete stranger saving someone else's life one day, if you're in good health and aged between 16 and 49 (inclusive). In the vast majority of cases, doing so is almost as simple as donating blood. You can read about what is involved in one of my earlier blog posts: How can I donate stem cells or bone marrow?

Whether you can be a donor or not, maybe you could save yourself some money, whilst at the same time helping to raise funds for the Anthony Nolan charity, which operates one of the registers for donors in the UK. You might be thinking that sounds too good to be true, but surprisingly it's not, as a couple of the services that I use, for which you could sign-up, operate a referral scheme, and any proceeds that I earn from those referral schemes I'll donate to the Anthony Nolan charity. It's that simple!

• TopCashback is a free service that essentially offers savings on a wide range of online purchases, and it couldn't be any easier to use; The few extra seconds that it takes you can sometimes offer substantial savings. Just today, I saved £22.22 on my home insurance, and earned £5.59 for simply getting quotes from three different home insurance comparison websites! In the last four and a half years, I've saved/earned nearly £700! Currently, if you sign-up via My TopCashback Referral Page, you will get a £5 Marks & Spencer's eGift card, and I'll get £10 to donate on your behalf, once you have saved/earned £10 via their free service.
  
  
• GiffGaff is a mobile phone service provider, powered by O2, with prices that tend to compare very favourably to that of the various others available. Their service is operated slightly differently, the result of which tends to provide extra flexibility for yourself, even though you do essentially still choose between pay as you go or a monthly contract. Currently, if you sign-up via My GiffGaff Referral Page, you will get £5 credit, and I'll get £5 to donate on your behalf, once you have added £10 to your credit.

You can also take a look at the Anthony Nolan website for other ways to help. Perhaps you'd like to get involved with fundraising, or even just donate money yourself? Maybe you'd like to be one of Anthony Nolan's volunteers? If you're pregnant, you could even consider donating the blood from your umbilical cord and placenta! More information about all of those possibilities (and more) is available on the Anthony Nolan website.