Houghton and Sunderland South MP, Bridget Phillipson is asking local residents to join the stem cell register and help save lives.Bridget is working with national charity, The Anthony Nolan Trust, to ask for qualifying young people to register as potential donors and has already hosted a recruitment event in Parliament, which helped recruit dozens of potential new donors to the register.
Every year 1,600 people in Britain need a stem cell transplant. All have terminal conditions such as Leukaemia, Lymphoma or Myeloma. A stem cell transplant, also known as a bone marrow transplant, is their only chance of life. At the moment, Anthony Nolan can only find a matching donor for half of them.
The Anthony Nolan Trust and Bridget, who herself registered as a potential donor, are asking local people to sign up. They are particularly keen to increase the numbers of young men who are currently underrepresented on the register. Men aged 18 -; 30 account for 80% of donations, but make up just 19% of the register.
Commenting on the campaign, Bridget said:??"I'm calling on local people, particularly young men between the ages of 18 and 30, to come forward and register as a potential donor.
"I registered as a donor when my cousin was diagnosed with a blood condition that meant she needed a transplant to save her life. I wasn't the match, but she did receive a transplant from another family member.
"If I could be a match for someone else who needs a transplant, I'd jump at the chance to give that person the same hope someone gave my family."