Devaanshi Mehta

Devaanshi Mehta (18 December 1996 – 28 June 2012) was a British - Indian student and humanitarian. She started the Asian Donor Campaign (ADC), a UK-based non-profit organisation whose goal is to raise awareness for the need to get more Asians to donate their blood, bone marrow and organs. ADC also raises much needed funds for hospitals doing cutting edge research into critical and life limiting illnesses.

Devaanshi was born to Harkant and Kalyani Mehta in the Harrow suburb of London. She was one of four children born into an Indo-Aryan, Hindu, Gujarati, Brahmin family. She had two older sisters, Jyotika and Tejal, and a younger brother, Dushyant. She went to the Cannon Lane and Pinner Wood Primary Schools, before attending Nower Hill High School.

At the age of nine, Devaanshi was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow condition aplastic anaemia (bone marrow failure). She underwent a bone marrow transplant in April 2007 and a top up of bone marrow in February 2008 at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Both donations were made by her younger brother Dushyant who was her sibling match. However, she was left chronically platelet and red cell dependent after the transplant.In addition she inherited her brothers' rarer blood type AB-. Therefore it became increasingly difficult to source negative platelets for her, and she organised appeals via the media. This motivated Devaanshi to investigate problems other children faced sourcing blood, bone marrow and organs. She quickly learnt that it was extremely difficult for people to find these products at the right time, simply because there were a lack of donors within the Asian community as a whole. She knew that if her brother had not been a matched donor, she and her family would have faced very trying and anxious times waiting for a donor to come forward. These events in her life inspired her to start fundraising and raising awareness regarding the importance of blood, bone marrow and organ donation, especially for the Asian communities. Asians have traditionally avoided donating blood and organs due to social or religious misconceptions. Devaanshi wanted to ensure that no man woman or child should die as a result of mis-information or out of date myths.

Sadly, in 2010, Devaanshi's lungs collapsed and she had to have comprehensive lung surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital for children in Bloomsbury, London. Her lungs were so badly damaged and consequently she was put on palliative care. She was told that she did not have long to live. Whilst this news came as a devastating shock to her, Devaanshi decided that she would use her time left and declared that she would do all she could to educate people within the Asian community about the stark reality that people were dying as a result of shortage in blood, bone marrow and organs from her own community. Even though her health was deteriorating drastically, she organised charity fundraising events such as dinners, auctions, cake sales, dance nights and international evenings from her hospital bed. She also gave a number of interviews on television, radio and in print to raise awareness. Devaanshi also wrote a blog titled "My Story in My own Words", where she spoke candidly about her treatment and prognosis.

Devaanshi died on 28 June 2012 at the Great Ormond Street Hospital after a lengthy battle with her lung condition and chronic platelet transfusion dependency. In her own words, she wrote: "Nothing more can be done for me now, but I want to make a difference to other children." Devaanshi was described as an inspiration by all whom she met. Her indomitable spirit and strength of character taught so many about the gift of life. Devaanshi will always be remembered for her strength of character, her compassion towards others and most of all for her love and zest for life. She was not only a young woman going through the traumas of chronic illness. She was truly a role model for all those who knew her personally and all those who heard of her courage. She was mentioned in a write up by the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Charity. She was truly an inspiration.

On 29 September 2013, nine staff members from Nower Hill High School, where Devaanshi attended, cycled 36 miles from the school to Windsor Castle in Berkshire to raise ₤1,000 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital where she died.The staff at Nowerhill continue to do the annual bike ride in memory of Devaanshi every year since her death. There is also a pack placed in her school in her memory.

For her untiring efforts, Devaanshi won the Jack Petchey Award for her fundraising and awareness campaigns in 2010, and was nominated for the Justgiving Young Fundraiser of the Year in 2011. Devaanshi was also recognised by the Well Child Foundation for the most inspirational child in the 12-15-year category in 2012.