{"id":666346,"date":"2026-01-01T07:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T07:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666346\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T07:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T07:14:19","slug":"scotland-is-a-nation-of-big-hearted-people-as-bone-marrow-drive-proves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666346\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland is a nation of big-hearted people as bone marrow drive proves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Record View says that those in need can find the donors they\u2019re looking for because Scotland is full of big-hearted people.<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_Screenshot-2025-02-12-at-102403.png\" alt=\"Rachael Nixon with daughter Daisy\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Rachael Nixon with daughter Daisy<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Scotland is proud to be a nation full of so many big-hearted people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The story of Rachael Nixon, a single mum from Kirkcaldy, is a case in point.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">At Christmas time in 2024, we told how she was left devastated to learn she\u2019d been struck down by the rare cancer myelofibrosis \u2013 an aggressive and deadly bone marrow disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Within weeks, thousands of people who read her story had signed up to try to save Rachael\u2019s life by offering themselves up as potential bone marrow donors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">And after a life-saving match was found, she is now battling back to health and looking forward to a new year and a bright future with her little daughter, Daisy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">This time of year is all about being generous and kind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Rachael\u2019s determination to raise awareness of the need for donors is hugely commendable and we hope that her bravery in speaking out will inspire so many more to sign up to the register to give a gift of life in 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">If you want to know more and potentially join the blood stem cell donor register, you can do so via the blood cancer charity <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dkms.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"DKMSLink opens in a new tab.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">DKMS<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">We\u2019re full of admiration for everyone who gives up their time and body to these sorts of vital services, including organ and blood donors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">We should think of them all as heroes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">This is the ultimate form of generosity \u2013 the kind that can save others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">We wish Rachael all the best and pray that others in need can find the donors they\u2019re looking for this year.<\/p>\n<p>Politicians make big promises for a living.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">But John Swinney has a big one to live up to in the New Year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The First Minister previously claimed that year-long waits for NHS treatment would be wiped out by this spring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">But that means having to clear 78,000 year-long waits by March to hit the pledge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It\u2019s a huge task and one that will be extremely difficult to meet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The SNP leader is right when he says the numbers left waiting more than 12 months for treatment are coming down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">But that\u2019s little comfort to the tens of thousands of Scots who are still stuck on a waiting list.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The political calendar in 2026 will be dominated by one event \u2013 the Holyrood election in May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The NHS should be at the forefront of all voters\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">And if the First Minister can deliver on this vow, it could hold sway the minds of thousands of voters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Record View says that those in need can find the donors they\u2019re looking for because Scotland is full&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5009],"tags":[748,4884,7852,24434,712,8545,9721,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-666346","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-john-swinney","11":"tag-kirkcaldy","12":"tag-scotland","13":"tag-scottish-national-party","14":"tag-stem-cells","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115818612040987066","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}