Blood cancer patient wants to help save others’ lives

Marton resident, Lisa Larkin, is calling upon her fellow Teessiders to find out whether they could save a life.  Lisa, 40, was diagnosed with aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in April this year and needs a blood stem cell (or bone marrow) transplant to save her life.

Luckily, Lisa’s sister, Louise, 38, is a perfect match for her, making her the ideal donor for Lisa. However, 70% of blood cancer patients don’t have a matching donor within their families, leaving them to rely on strangers who have joined the Anthony Nolan register of potential donors. The charity desperately needs more young men to join the register, as men aged between 18 and 29 are most likely to be asked to donate.

Lisa said, “I’m so lucky to have a sibling match – there are 1,600 people in the UK who need a transplant, so I’ve set up this event to be able to find matches for those who aren’t as lucky. It’s simple to join, simple to donate and you could save someone’s life. My sister will save mine when she donates to me so our family understand how much impact such a simple act can have.”

Lisa’s recruitment event takes place at Bannatyne’s Gym in Ingleby Barwick on Friday 3 June from 3pm until 8pm. All new donors are welcome, but young men are particularly encouraged to come along to find out more. You’ll be asked for some medical information and a small saliva sample.  To join the register, you must be aged between 18 and 40, weigh over 8 stone and be in general good health.

To find out more, or to register, visit www.anthonynolan.org or call 0303 303 0303.

For more information, or for an interview with Lisa, please contact Victoria Moffett on 020 7424 6619 / 07825 937920 or email victoria.moffett@anthonynolan.org

Please note that since July 2010, Anthony Nolan has dropped the word ‘Trust’ from its name.

Anthony Nolan is a pioneering charity that saves the lives of people with blood cancer. Every day,  we use our register to match remarkable donors willing to donate their blood stem cells, or bone marrow, to people they have never met who desperately need lifesaving transplants.

We provide two potentially lifesaving transplants every day, but for every patient we can help, there is another who sadly we can’t because no match can be found.

To join the register, you must be aged between 18 and 40, weigh more than 8 stone (51kg) and be in general good health.

For more information on the donating process, or to apply to join the register, visit www.anthonynolan.org or call 0303 303 0303.

On average, 65 people a day in the UK are diagnosed with a blood cancer – that’s one person every 23 minutes.There are nearly 1,600 people in the UK in need of a bone marrow transplant.  This is usually their last chance of survival.

70% of patients will not find a matching donor from within their families.80% of donations take place via PBSC (peripheral blood stem cell collection).  This is an outpatient appointment and is similar to donating blood.

Most donors talk about how wonderful it is to have saved someone’s life.

All new donors are welcome but young males and people from ethnic minority and mixed race backgrounds are particularly encouraged to join the register.