Father's plea for bone marrow donors

18/01/2010

A local father-of-two is appealing for people around the region to come forward and help save lives.

Steven Bell, aged 32, of Lanchester, County Durham, is encouraging members of the public to attend a bone marrow donor registration session being hosted by The Anthony Nolan Trust on Friday, January 22 2010 at Northumbrian Water’s head office at Abbey Road, Pity Me, Durham, DH1 5FJ from 10.00am to 12 noon.

Steven, who works as a customer systems analyst for the water company at Pity Me, Durham, knows how important bone marrow donors are. His daughter Emma, aged four, has been battling leukaemia for 18 months and is soon to have a bone marrow transplant after her eight year old brother was found to be a suitable match.

More than 35 of Steven’s colleagues, from offices at Pity Me, Durham, Horsley, Tyne Valley, Howdon, Wallsend and Thornaby, Teesside, are to sign up for the UK’s largest bone marrow register at the session, by giving a saliva sample.
 
Members of the public are welcome to attend the donor recruitment session, but must have registered their details by Wednesday January 20 2010 at 4.00pm.  To register, please contact Jane Morland at Northumbrian Water on 0191 301 6787 or email jane.morland@nwl.co.uk.

Steven said: “We have been very lucky to find a matching donor for Emma through her brother, but there are many other families who are still waiting, and hoping, for a matching donor. 

“I would encourage people to come forward and join the register. The more people who are registered, the more chance there is of saving the lives of those who desperately need a transplant.”

Nigel Gorvett, regional recruitment and partnerships manager for The Anthony Nolan Trust in the North East and Scotland, said: “70% of patients needing a transplant do not find a matching donor from within their families, so they rely on the generosity of strangers for survival.

“Signing up to the register could save the life of one of 16,000 people currently in need of a transplant.”

To join the register, potential bone marrow donors need to be aged between 18 and 40 years old, in good health and fully committed to undergo the donation procedure if required. Male donors are in very short supply and so are particularly welcome. More details on signing up for the bone marrow register can be found at www.anthonynolan.org.uk.

For more information contact Leanne Clough on 0191 301 6733.

Key Bone Marrow Register Statistics

• The Anthony Nolan Trust is the UK’s largest and most successful bone marrow register. In 2008, the charity saved two lives every day.

• Just over 400,000 people are on the bone marrow register and more donors are needed.

• 72 % of all donations are made by men.

• Between 1974 and 2008 The Anthony Nolan Trust has given 7,000 people the chance of life.

• In 2008/9 The Anthony Nolan Trust facilitated unrelated donor transplants for 808 patients.

• The Anthony Nolan Trust receives around 1,400 transplant requests from UK patients annually, and around 50% of these requests are successful.

• There is a one in four chance that a brother or sister will share the same tissue type as a patient.

• Only 30% of patients needing a transplant find a matching donor from within their own family, generally from a sibling.

• Nearly 10,000 donors were deleted from the register during 2008 mainly through donors reaching the upper age limit.