ADVICE 17
How to save a life
George Watkins
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70% of sufferers need a donation from outside their family
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Why stem cells donation matters
bout six months ago, on a particularly slow Saturday morning, I came across volunteers for a charity called Anthony Nolan, encouraging me to put myself on the stem cell register, in the hope that one day I would match with someone suffering from blood cancer needing an emergency transplant, and might be able to save a live. I said yes, and last month I found out that I have indeed matched with someone. My blood tests have been sent off to confirm the match, and in the meantime I wanted to do more, running the Cardiff Half Marathon for the charity. When I’ve told people what the register is, they’ve seemed
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to not know what it is, and just how important it actually is. Every 20 minutes, someone in the UK finds out they have blood cancer, such as lymphoma or leukaemia. As part of illnesses like this, their cells become extremely damaged, so they need a healthy person with the same tissue type to help replace and repair their own. Currently, Anthony Nolan has about 500,000 people on the register, but this is not enough. 70% of sufferers need a donation from a source outside their family, which puts immense pressure on the register to find a match. So how do I join? At Cardiff University, you’re very lucky, as there
are regular opportunities to join on campus. The process involves a donation of saliva and a few forms, and then you’re ready to go. You can also request the kit from their website. What happens if I’m a match? You’ll receive a notification form Anthony Nolan by email or text, with the news, and they’ll confirm you’re still on the register, before asking you to arrange a blood donation so they can double check that you suit the match. If you pass this stage, then you’ll be asked to book a date in a donation centre to give your stem cells. How do they do it? 90% of donors will go through a process called peripheral blood stem cell collection,
where you have a small tube inserted in your arm connected to a machine which filters your blood for the stem cells. It only takes a few hours. Otherwise, you will be put under anaesthetic and have the stem cells removed form your pelvis by syringe and needle. It sounds worse than it is. The important thing is that a donation is often the last or only option for someone in this position, which is why it is absolutely vital that the register continues to grow in size. There is a particular shortage of young men like me. Give it a try. You could save a life. Their website is anthonynolan. org.
5 steps to better food storage
e all love food. We all aren’t keen on mouldy food. We all also don’t like wasting money. We all like handy tips on storing food. No? Just me then.
1. Revive your greens
Bring those greens back to life by putting them into a sinkful of iced water and giving them a bit of a shake around for 5-30 minutes.
2. Soggy lettuce?
Put a bit of kitchen roll with your salad. As the veggies chill out they produce condensation. The kitchen roll will soak up any moisture in the bag. Nobody wants moist food.
3. Longer life for fruit
Pictured:
Keep those apples away from other fruit. It’s a life or death situation of sorts. They give out ethylene gas, which is great for potatoes (famously not a fruit), but which isn’t too great for any other fruit.
It looks good and tastes good (muammerokumus via Flickr)
4. Use your freezer
Go freezer mad. Yoghurt, cheese, milk, eggs, bananas and bread are all ok if you cool them down that much.
5. Ration yourself
Portion your meat. Packaging individual chicken fillets and the like in separate freezer bags makes it much easier to prepare your meals, not to mention avoiding banging it against the worktop to split them up.
Hormonal Imbalance: What you can do There’s no need to suffer in silence
Claudia Rutherford
H
ormonal Imbalance. It’s a term usually assigned to pubescent teenagers or female sufferers of PMS/PMDD. But to exclusively stereotype these groups is inaccurate. Whether you’re still suffering the brunt of your puberty years or if you’re bordering on the cusp of adulthood, you can still be affected by the wrath of unstable hormones. Regardless of your age or gender, your hormonal balance can be dis-
turbed at any given moment and by a number of determining factors. It seems that illnesses centring around our hormones have become stigmatised, and the people suffering from them receive judgement even worse. Often, sufferers are apprehensive to admit to their illness, for fear of not being taken seriously. But there’s no need to feel hesitant. Hormonal imbalance is a real occurrence that is important to detect and treat. The first step to understanding and treating hormonal imbalance is to detect it. Some of the more common symptoms are: Fatigue: Can’t make it to your lecture without a trip to Hoffi Coffi? How about that mid-day crash? It’s not laziness that’s making you feel mentally foggy. When your hormones are out of balance, it’s normal
for your body and mind to experience exhaustion. Dietary changes can help this. Drink plenty of water and incorporate more fruit into your diet. It’s a much more sustainable pick-me-up than caffeine. Constant flux in weight: As much as lifestyle, diet and exercise are determining factors of your weight, hormonal imbalance can also have an effect. Many people have unaddressed insulin resistances that prevent them from maintaining a healthy weight. To treat this, it is best to ease your intake of processed or highly sugary foods. Eat in variety, eat in moderation and eat well. Cravings: We’ve all been there, surrounded in the remnants of a late night snacking feast. But as much as you’re entitled to gorge on a packet of chocolate digestives every once in
a while, constant cravings (and I’m talking every day) can be a sign of a disrupted hormonal state. Adrenal fatigue and insulin resistance are common causes of cravings. It can be difficult to prevent this. But again, reducing your sugar intake (although incredibly difficult) will not only stabilise your hormones, but will boost your nutritional levels too. Depression and Anxiety: More seriously, hormonal imbalance can stimulate emotional instability. It can be viscous and confusing, but there are ways to get help. Herbal treatments such as Evening Primrose Oil help to calm disrupted hormones. If you still feel the same symptoms persisting, it’s best to seek help from a friend or doctor. No one should suffer their problems alone.