MAIL readers heaped praise on a young shipyard worker after he donated his stem cells. Brad Lawson, 23, from Walney, said: I first signed onto the register six years ago and hadn t thought much about it since. Then I was shocked to get a phone call the other week to say they d matched a patient with my stem cells. Stem cells are cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. Every 14 minutes, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer such as leukaemia. For many, a bone marrow or blood stem cell transplant is their only chance.