COUNCILLOR CALLS ON NEIGHBOURHOOD TO JOIN THE ARMY OF 1,177 LOCAL BONE MARROW DONORS”
Anthony Nolan and Cllr Michael Mullaney on the hunt for selfless superheroes to save lives
Parliamentary candidate for Bosworth Cllr Michael Mullaney and the charity Anthony Nolan are searching for more local heroes in Bosworth to join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow donor register and help in the fight against blood cancer.
The charity has revealed that, in Bosworth there are now more than 1,100 selfless people willing to donate their stem cells, or bone marrow, to save the life of a stranger. In total, more than half a million people are currently on the Anthony Nolan register and the average per constituency is 927.
Now, Michael Mullaney is encouraging more 16 to 30-year-olds to sign up. He says it is particularly important that young men and people from ethnic minorities join the register as they are currently under-represented.
The blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan created the world's first bone marrow donor register, and has been saving lives for four decades by matching remarkable people willing to donate their bone marrow or stem cells to patients in desperate need of a transplant. Two thirds of UK patients will not find a matching donor from within their families; instead they turn to Anthony Nolan to find them an unrelated donor.
Anthony Nolan wants to give people the very best chance of life by finding the best possible match for them. But the charity can currently only find a perfect match for 60 per cent of transplant recipients, so they still urgently need more people to come forward.
Michael Mullaney said: "I am delighted that 1,177 people in Bosworth are registered on the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register. It is fantastic to see that there are so many heroic and selfless people in the constituency.
"I hope that more local people will also now be inspired to sign up and to become potential lifesavers for people in desperate need."
Ann O'Leary, Head of Register Development at Anthony Nolan, said: 'We are delighted that Michael Mullaney has been inspired to encourage others to sign up as donors. Donating is an incredibly selfless thing to do and will give someone with blood cancer the best possible chance of survival. What many people don't realise is that it is also surprisingly simple.'
To join the Anthony Nolan register you must be 16-30 and in good health. It involves filling out a simple online form and spitting into a tube. About 90% of people who are asked to donate will do so through a process similar to giving blood.
The charity needs heroes of all ages to champion the register at a local level and help us spread the word - from schools, communities and workplaces to your own friends and family. Be a hero - find out how you can help by going to www.anthonynolan.org/superhero
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For more information, please call the Anthony Nolan press team on 0207 424 6588 or emailpress@anthonynolan.org
To find out how many donors are in your constituency, and for the full interactive map of the UK bone marrow register and constituency leader board, visit www.anthonynolan.org/superhero
Key messages
- Anthony Nolan was the world's first bone marrow register. The blood cancer charity has been saving lives for four decades by matching remarkable people willing to donate their bone marrow to patients in desperate need of a transplant.
- We need more young men aged 16-30 to sign up, as they are most likely to be chosen to donate but make up just 15% of the register.
- We urgently need people from Black, Asian and other Ethnic Minority backgrounds to sign up, as they are currently under-represented on the register.
Key statistics
- Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer
- Around 2,000 people in the UK need a bone marrow (or stem cell) transplant each year. This is usually their last chance of survival
- Two thirds of UK patients will not find a matching donor from within their families; instead they turn to us to find them an unrelated donor
- We can only find a perfect donor for 60% of the people who need a lifesaving bone marrow transplant - the figure is much lower for people from ethnic minority backgrounds
- 90% of donations take place via PBSC (peripheral blood stem cell collection). This is an outpatient appointment and is similar to donating blood
- To join the register, you must be aged between 16 and 30, weigh more than 7st 12lbs (50kgs) and be in general good health. For more information about our work or to sign up online, please visit www.anthonynolan.org