Samuel

Samuel is 19, soon-to-be finance and insurance student and lives in Deurne. When we asked him to become a stem cell donor, he didn't think twice. "I didn't know anything about giving stem cells. When I heard what I could do to help and how little effort it involved, I registered straightaway. This is how my mother brought me up: if you can help someone else, then you shouldn't hesitate." Samuel has a Belgian father and Ghanaian mother, who is Protestant. But he says that religion is not a big part of his life and therefore didn't influence his decision to become a stem cell donor: "It's much more about the idea of helping one another. My mother raised me to think like that." 

Proud Mom, modest son

"My mother was also there when I decided to become a stem cell donor. She was proud of my decision. In fact, my whole family was pleased that I registered." Samuel himself, however, doesn't feel particularly noble or special now that he's a stem cell donor: "I think it's actually quite normal. There's nothing difficult about it and you're helping someone else, so it was an easy decision."