Forever in our hearts.

Yvette Gate was ill with aplastic anaemia for six years. Despite this serious illness, she rarely complained and tried to enjoy her life. But it was never easy for her.

A matching bone marrow stem cell donor could have saved her life. But one was never found for her, and she died on 29th May 2010, aged just sixteen.

She was intelligent, beautiful and had so much to offer — so much to live for. But she never had that chance. A matching donor would have given her that chance.

A race against time

Yvette’s struggle against illness, and her need for a bone marrow donor, inspired her family and friends to set up the Race Against Time campaign — urging people to join the bone marrow register so that other patients would find the match she never did.

During the years of her illness, Yvette was cared for at Bristol Children’s Hospital. In her memory, her parents set up the Yvette Gate Star Tribute Fund through The Grand Appeal, to help future oncology and bone marrow transplant patients there.

Why it still matters

Thousands of patients today need a suitable bone marrow stem cell donor to give them a future. Only around 30% find a match within their own family — the rest rely on strangers on the worldwide registers. More donors are needed, urgently, and the need is even greater within minority ethnic communities.

The Yvette Gate Trust carries that work on.