Do you, or have you ever thought about, giving blood? If so, perhaps you may also have considered becoming a bone marrow donor. Every year thousands of people with bone marrow diseases such as Leukaemia reach the stage where a bone marrow transplant is the only road back to health. In many cases, this transplant is crucial for their survival; and yet all too often, although a vital part of their treatment, it is also an elusive one. In my sister's case, a complete match was found in a member of the family - one of the youngest, in fact; but with only a 25% chance of their own siblings being a match, lots of patients aren’t that lucky. My sister spent six weeks in the Royal Marsden Hospital during September, 1998 undergoing her transplant. One of her fellow patients at this time was a young man who had nine brothers and sisters, with not one of them being a match. He would have died if a donor had not been found through an International Bone Marrow Register such as The Anthony Nolan Trust. If you are aged between eighteen and forty, are in fairly good health, and weigh over eight stone, you can become a donor. All that you need to do is telephone the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust on 0990 111533 and leave your name and address, and they will then send an information pack. Alternatively you can request details by E-mail at - kayc@anthonynolan.com.

My younger sister was only fifteen when her bone marrow saved the life of a member of our family. Think of the lives you could be saving.

 

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