On 13th August 2025 we held our first Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) social event hosted by our Bristol haemoglobinopathy team, which brought together local teenagers for an afternoon of fun, bowling and good food!
Held at Kingpins in Cabot Circus, this pilot event was open to young people aged 14-18 in the Bristol area and was attended by six young people. We went bowling followed by food, with plenty of time to chat and relax in good company.
The event was designed to give young people an opportunity to meet others with similar experiences in a safe, informal environment. Living with a long-term condition like sickle cell or thalassaemia can sometimes feel isolating, so creating spaces for peer support and friendship is vital.
Some verbal feedback on the day included:
“This is awesome, can we do it again?”“This was fun, can we do it again soon and add karaoke?”“It was cool to meet other people like me.”
Staff who attended the event also had a great time and were thrilled to see the positive impact the gathering had on attendees.
This was our first trial event which was organised as a Bristol-only invite to test the idea and gather feedback. We’re pleased to say it was a success and we’re now looking at opening future events to all regional patients.
We hope to run teenage and young adult social meet-ups once or twice a year, offering more young people the opportunity to build friendships and have fun together.
A big thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the day so special. We can’t wait to see you at the next one… we’ll look into karaoke!
If someone aged 14-18 would like to attend our next social event, please contact us.