David Downs

CAR T Saved My Life — Let’s Bring It Home to New Zealand!

Seven years ago, CAR T-cell therapy saved my life.

But it didn’t save it in New Zealand.

When I ran out of options here, I had to travel halfway across the world to the United States for treatment. It was terrifying, expensive, uncertain — and I was one of the lucky ones who could go.

Right now, many Kiwis with aggressive blood cancers still face that same reality: leave their country, leave their whānau, and raise extraordinary sums of money just to have a chance at living.

That’s not good enough.

I’m taking on the Go the Distance challenge because I want to help change that. Every kilometre I complete and every dollar you donate supports the Malaghan Institute’s ENABLE-2 trial — a critical step toward making CAR T-cell therapy available in New Zealand’s public health system.

This trial isn’t theoretical. It’s real. It’s underway. And it’s within reach.

But it needs us.

If we succeed, future patients won’t have to board a long-haul flight when they’re at their weakest. They’ll receive world-class treatment here, close to home, close to family, close to the people who matter most.

I am alive because of CAR T.

Let’s make sure others don’t have to leave Aotearoa to access it.

Please support my challenge if you can. Give what you’re able. Share if you can’t. Every contribution brings this treatment closer to home.

Let’s go the distance — together.