Actor Nick Teo opens up about decision to donate stem cells: 'You could be someone's hope'

The 37-year-old Mediacorp actor revealed that his bone marrow and stem cell donation journey began five years ago, when he and his wife, Hong Ling, underwent the required cheek swab.

Nick Teo revealed joined the bone marrow donor registry about five years ago after encouragement from wife Hong Ling. (Photo: Instagram/@nickk_teo)

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Donating your stem cells may seem scary to some people, but Nick Teo is here to dispel some myths with his own personal experience.

On Wednesday (Oct 21), the 37-year-old Mediacorp actor shared that he had donated his stem cells as part of a bone marrow donation to "someone (he) never even met" a while back.

"Signed up for a cheek swab because Hong Ling did it and wanted me to do it too… and I ended up saving someone’s life," wrote Teo.

According to his wife Hong Ling, 32, the couple did their cheek swabs about five years ago, when they learnt "how hard it can be to find a match".

"I know there are many rumours about bone marrow donation, including that it affects fertility. And here I am, about to start a family of my own," added Teo. "So I get why people might have concerns. But don’t let rumours stop you from finding out the facts."

Teo, who is expecting his first child, hopes to dispel misconceptions about donation, including fertility concerns. (Photo: Instagram/@nickk_teo)

The celebrity couple got married in 2023 and announced last month that they're expecting their first child .

In his video, Teo shared that he also had to give himself injections before the donation to increase the number of stem cells in his blood.

"Hong Ling helped me with my very first one. Not gonna lie, I was quite nervous at first. But after going through the whole process, I realised it wasn't as scary as I thought," wrote Teo, who managed to administer the second jab himself.

"The actual donation was a little like donating blood, taking about six hours of my life to give someone else a second chance at theirs. And to me, that was six hours well spent."

After taking a few days to recover, the actor was able to return to doing what he loves – acting. He even filmed fight scenes for Mediacorp drama In His Hands not long after.

While Teo admitted that he probably wouldn't have signed up if not for his wife, he's glad he went through with the donation.

"So if you’ve ever thought about signing up, maybe this is your little nudge. A simple swab could lead to something life-changing. You never know whose life you might save," he said.

Hong Ling also took to Instagram to applaud her husband, saying: "I'm super proud of you!"

His post struck a chord with netizens, including one who is waiting for a match themselves.

"As a patient who needs a bone marrow transplant, thank you so much for your donation. I will also be needing one in a few months, hoping a donor comes through," one user commented.

This story was originally published in 8Days.

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这位 37 岁的 Mediacorp 演员透露，他的骨髓和干细胞捐献之旅始于五年前，当时他和妻子洪玲接受了必要的口腔拭子检查。

尼克·张透露，大约五年前，在妻子洪玲的鼓励下，他加入了骨髓捐献者登记册。（图片：Instagram/@nickk_teo）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

捐献干细胞对某些人来说可能听起来很可怕，但 Nick Teo 将用他自己的亲身经历来消除一些误解。

周三（10 月 21 日），这位 37 岁的 Mediacorp 演员透露，他之前曾捐献干细胞作为骨髓捐献的一部分，捐献给了“一个他从未见过的人”。

“因为洪玲做了口腔拭子检测，她也想让我做，所以我报名参加了……结果我救了一条命，”Teo 写道。

据他的妻子洪玲（32岁）说，这对夫妇大约五年前做了口腔拭子检测，当时他们了解到“找到匹配的血型有多么困难”。

“我知道关于骨髓捐献有很多传言，包括它会影响生育能力。而我，即将组建自己的家庭，”张女士补充道，“所以我理解人们为什么会有顾虑。但不要让谣言阻止你了解真相。”

即将迎来第一个孩子的特奥希望消除人们对捐精的误解，包括对生育能力的担忧。（图片：Instagram/@nickk_teo）

这对明星夫妇于 2023 年结婚，并于上个月宣布他们即将迎来第一个孩子。

Teo 在视频中透露，他在捐献干细胞之前还必须给自己注射药物，以增加血液中的干细胞数量。

“洪玲帮我打了第一针。说实话，我一开始很紧张。但经历了整个过程后，我发现并没有我想象的那么可怕，”张写道，他自己给孩子打了第二针。

“实际的捐赠过程有点像献血，我花了大约六个小时的时间，给了别人第二次生命的机会。对我来说，这六个小时花得非常值得。”

经过几天的休养，这位演员重返他热爱的演艺事业。不久之后，他甚至还为新传媒电视剧《在他手中》拍摄了打斗场面。

Teo承认，如果不是妻子的劝说，他可能不会报名参加，但他很高兴自己最终完成了捐赠。

“所以，如果你曾经想过注册，这或许能给你一点小小的鼓励。一次简单的拭子检测就可能改变人生。你永远不知道你会拯救谁的生命，”他说。

洪玲也在Instagram上发文称赞她的丈夫，她说：“我为你感到无比骄傲！”

他的帖子引起了网友的共鸣，其中一位网友自己也在等待配对成功。

一位用户评论道：“作为一名需要骨髓移植的患者，非常感谢您的捐赠。几个月后我也需要进行骨髓移植，希望届时能找到合适的捐赠者。”

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