Cameron Carmichael is based at Kilmelford Community Fire Station in Argyll and Bute.
A volunteer firefighter based at a community fire station in the west of Scotland has received a prestigious charity award.
Cameron Carmichael, based at Kilmelford Community Fire Station near Oban in Argyll and Bute, was named Anthony Nolan’s Donor Champion of the Year 2024.
Cameron signed up for the blood cancer stem cell register when he was 16 and discovered he was a match for someone in need. He became our charity partnership’s 100th donor in July 2023.
Cameron said: “I was over the moon when I found out I had won the award. I was not expecting it at all.”
Cameron became the milestone number when he donated his stem cells to help save someone’s life.
He said: “It took a few days for it to sink in and to realise how much of an impact I could have on someone and their family.
“I also did not expect to be the 100th donor. It’s an amazing feeling to have donated my stem cells and helped someone - but to also see the partnership reach that number - just feels really special.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) charity partnership with Anthony Nolan sees the SFRS visit secondary schools to hold information events. Pupils learn how they can support the charity’s lifesaving work by joining the stem cell register.
It’s a partnership that leaves an impact – it even reaches through classroom windows.
When the SFRS presentation was taking place at Oban High School, Cameron’s year group were too young, as pupils need to be 16 to join the register. Cameron however noticed something going on. Curious, he stopped and peered through the classroom windows watching what was taking place.
What he saw inspired him, and he joined the stem cell register as soon as he could when he turned 16. The SFRS/Anthony Nolan online registration process is an option open to everyone.
He said: “I should probably have been in class but I just stopped and watched through the window. I had never heard of Anthony Nolan and I decided to sign up when I was old enough.
“I joined the register because by doing so, you can help someone who is in need. For all the time it takes you, you could add so much more into someone’s life.”
In March 2023, Cameron became the 100th person inspired by SFRS to donate their stem cells for a patient in need of a transplant.
He said: “The process of donating was really easy. You just get a few blood samples taken before donating to check you are the best possible match, then the donation goes ahead. The staff are really welcoming and do everything they can to help you through the process.”
The SFRS partnership with the charity was formed in 2009 after then Area Commander Ally Boyle had been diagnosed with Myelodysplasia, a blood cancer for which the only potential cure is a stem cell transplant.
The partnership has seen 19,000+ potential donors recruited to the register.
As a volunteer on call firefighter Cameron helps to protect his local community. He also has the support of his employer Kames Fish Farming in Kilmelford, where he’s worked for over two years.
He said: “The company I work for have an ethos of helping their local community and they are happy for me to be a volunteer on call firefighter. They know it’s an important role in the community.”
The station is crewed by six volunteers and being a small community, Cameron already knew everyone on the watch. It was another volunteer on call firefighter who gave Cameron a leaflet about joining SFRS which prompted him to apply.
He said: “I’d actually been thinking about joining for a while. I think it’s brilliant to be able to do all of this, you learn a lot of skills and you’re there to help people in the community when they need you.
“I was actually away doing a breathing apparatus training course when I got the email from Anthony Nolan to say I was a match. Everything has just linked in and fallen into place.”
