Middlesex University Students in appeal to find life saving donors
A group of first year students at the Middlesex Business School in Hendon have appealed to students and members of the local community to register as potential Bone Marrow Donors at specially organised clinics on campus from Monday February 14th to Thursday February the 18th 2005.
Find The Time Campaigners having fun!They aim to find life saving matches for the many sufferers of blood cancer and other related illnesses who desperately need a bone marrow transplant in order to survive.
1st Year Business Student Abel Kayakih whos leading the efforts, commented:-
We hope to make more people aware that it may only be them that can save a life simply by taking a few minutes to register and being a matching bone marrow donor to a patient anywhere around the world.
Amongst those who are desperate to find a match is 39 year old Donna Benjamin from Luton who suffers from Multiple Myeloma a cancer of the plasma cells within the bone marrow. Her only chance of survival is a bone marrow transplant.
Because a persons bone marrow type is an inherited characteristic, the chance of finding a matching donor for a patient is GREATER if the donor is from the same racial/ethnic background. People suffering from blood conditions like Donna who are from minority communities have a low chance of finding a bone marrow match
Whilst minorities are worst affected, everyone in the UK is affected by the shortage of registered bone marrow donors. Although there are more than 600,000 people registered as potential donors in Britain, less than 5% are of Asian, African or African Caribbean origin.
So if you are aged 18-43, in good health and particularly if you are of Asian, African, African Caribbean or Mixed Parentage descent please come and register as a potential bone marrow donor & join the largest UK register administered by The Anthony Nolan Trust.
The process to register is very simple. A small blood sample is taken by a trained and skilled phlebotomist. Should a match be found, bone marrow can be transplanted in a simple procedure at a local hospital. The marrow regenerates within two weeks and donation has no long-term side effects.
Dean of Students, (Hendon Campus) at Middlesex University Brian Hipkin commented:-
We are happy to support this worthy cause and proud that our students have taken the initiative to organise this clinic. Wed encourage other students and the local community to show their support by taking a few minutes out of their day to come down to the Hendon campus and register as potential bone marrow donors.
The event has been supported and run by the registered charities, Find the Time and the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust. Both these community focused charities seek to significantly increase the numbers of bone marrow donors in the UK.
Clinic Details
Members of the public are welcome to register at the clinics from the 14-18 February between 10am and 5pm at the following address:-
Ground Floor Staff Room
Middlesex Business School
The Burroughs
Hendon
London NW4 4BT
(nearest Tube is Hendon)
For further information about the event please contact :-
Shams Maladwala (Trustee Find the Time and Event Co-ordinator)
0845 056 3720,
Mobile no. 07786 850 413
e-mail. info@findthetime.org.uk
Beverley De-Gale (Co Founder, Manager ACLT)
020 8667-1122
Fax no. 020 8667-1626
Mobile no. 07957 376 275
info@aclt.org
http://www.aclt.org
Abel Kayakih (Student Volunteer)
07963776973