Stem cell charity inspired by child who died from leukemia to close

A charity set up to encourage people to become stem cell donors in memory of a two-year-old girl who died from leukemia is closing after almost a decade.

Parents Yaser and Vicki Martini founded Team Margot in January 2015, three months after the death of their daughter Margot.

They had been campaigning under that name since December 2013, with tens of thousands of people registered as stem cell donors, many of whom were from the West Midlands.

Team Margot said they have made the “difficult decision” to begin winding down the charity.

In a statement published on its website, the charity said: “This decision comes at a time when the demands of our ambitious projects and the changing political landscape require new energy and expertise that goes beyond what we can currently offer.

“Our commitment to the mission we have established remains as strong as ever.”

The charity thanked people for their “unwavering support”, having “achieved remarkable strides in donor advocacy and health equality”.

Margot’s father, Yaser Martini, said there was strong support for the charity in the West Midlands due to media coverage and the campaign when they appealed for stem cell donors for Margot.

While the family lived in Roehampton, London, Margot’s mother came from Essington in Staffordshire, with Margot’s aunt living in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton.

Reflecting on more than a decade of campaigning, Martini said: “I think the most significant thing we did was Margot’s appeal.

“Tens of thousands of people have signed up to be potential stem cell donors in the UK.”

Martini said this represented more than 500 people who were able to receive stem cell donations over 10 years who otherwise would not have been able to,

“That’s about one a week and it’s great to know,” he said.

“That’s a fantastic and lasting legacy.”

Since then, the charity has been involved in many campaigns, including encouraging people to consider donating blood and platelets, something Margot required during her treatment.

Team Margot also urged people to consider donating their organs after death and to inform loved ones of their wishes, as despite there being an opt-out system for organ donation in the UK, families can still annul this decision.

Martini said he and his wife considered donating Margot’s organs after she died.

Even though they couldn’t do it, they were happy to have talked.

“If you don’t tell your loved ones, they may ignore it and do something against your will, so tell them what your wishes are,” he said.

At the same time, the charity has provided educational resources to schools about organ and blood donation, called Giving To Help Others, and has financially helped more than 340 families with sick children.

Most recently, Team Margot provided support to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on ethnic transplants and transfusions, which was created in December 2022.

This led to a parliamentary reportraising awareness of the health inequalities faced by patients from mixed and ethnic minority backgrounds who require an organ or stem cell transplant or blood transfusion.

“The NHS was created to provide free healthcare for everyone, but the world has changed and it is not suitable in this case,” Martini said.

He added that people of mixed origin suffer a “double inequality” in this regard, as people are more predisposed to have conditions that require a donor, in addition to there being a lack of suitable donations for this group.

While the charity is winding down, Martini hopes to continue campaigning and supporting the parliamentary group unofficially.

“To me, Team Margot – it’s still part of your spirit and your heart,” he said.

“The campaign will probably stay with me for the rest of my days.”