A friend of a 24-year-old leukaemia patient who spent his final days in hospital doing all he could to support other cancer sufferers has made a film to continue his campaign.
Kevin Kararwa, of Canterbury Road in Morden, launched an appeal from his isolation ward in King's College Hospital last year to get 2,400 people of African and Caribbean heritage to join the bone marrow register - 100 for every year he lived.
He died one week later, without seeing his target reached. Now close friend Maddie Gatabaki, of Croydon, has posted a film on Youtube in his memory to highlight the lack of BME donors registered on the UK stem cell register.
Kevin Kararwa spoke to this website about his campaign from hospital last year
Miss Gatabaki, a film graduate of Middlesex University said: "We are very inspired by how courageous he was in fighting his disease and how he coped and he was still laughing despite the fact that he was in so much pain.
"Kevin spoke to me about making a film to highlight the issue about two weeks' before he took a turn for the worse. I promised him I would make the film on the day he died."
May 2014: Kevin Kararwa dies after losing battle against leukaemia
June 2013: Hundreds join bone marrow register at ACLT in memory of Kevin Kararwa
Inspired by Match.com, the six-minute film Could You Be My Match shows two young men, one white and one black, who are both looking for a "match".
At first it appears they are looking for girlfriends, but it is later revealed they are looking for bone marrow donors. The white man finds one and survives, while the black man dies, highlighting the significantly reduced chances for BME groups in the UK who contract leukaemia.
The UK register is made up of about 900,000 people, of which 99.9 per cent are White British.
Mr Kararwa, who was of Kenyan heritage, never found a match despite launching a worldwide appeal. Doctors decided his only chance was to receive a 50 per cent matched transplant from his younger brother Ian.
Filmmaker Maddie Gatabaki with Kevin Kararwa's mother, Veronica Kararwa
His health initially improved but he relapsed in May and was given one week to live. He died on May 19.
Speaking to the Wimbledon Guardian, Mr Kararwa's mother, Veronica Kararwa said: "My prayer is that it just gives people that impact that they are compelled to then go and register.
"My hope and aim now is that this motivates people to register and Kevin's campaign can save someone's life. Then his death will not have been in vain."
Croydon charity The African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), which supported the Kararwa family during his illness, is encouraging people of African and Caribbean heritage to join the bone marow register on Saturday March 14 at Capital XTRA's London HQ between 12pm and 6pm.
For more information on how you can join the UK stem cell register via ACLT, please visit aclt.org or call 020 3757 7700.
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