Residents are tops for lifesaving efforts
Praise from blood cancer charity
RESIDENTS in Loughborough and its surrounding towns and villages have been praised by blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan after coming top in the UK.
Nicky Morgan MP has revealed that Loughborough has come top in the UK in both the ‘Most potential lifesavers added to the stem cell register in the past year’ and the ‘Youngest potential lifesavers on the stem cell register’.
Mrs Morgan collected certificates on behalf of the residents of Loughborough from the charity at a reception held in Westminster.
The achievement is being celebrated by Anthony Nolan as part of its Communities vs Blood Cancer campaign – which shines a spotlight on the vital work being done at a local level to ensure every patient in need of a stem cell transplant can find a lifesaving donor.
In Loughborough 2,280 potential stem cell donors are registered with Anthony Nolan. Forty seven per cent of these donors are male, and the average age is 28-years-old.
In total, more than 700,000 people in the UK are on the Anthony Nolan register, any of whom could be a match for someone with blood cancer and asked to donate their stem cells to give a patient a second chance of life.
And now, Mrs Morgan is encouraging even more people from Loughborough and the surrounding areas, particularly men aged 16-30 and people from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, to register as stem cell donors and make sure that a match is available for everyone in need of a transplant.
While anyone on the register could be a match for someone with blood cancer, men aged 16-30 are most likely to be asked to donate. They provide more than 50 per cent of donations yet make up just 16 per cent of the register.
There is also a shortage of donors from non-white and mixed-race backgrounds.
Mrs Morgan said: “I am very proud that Loughborough leads the country in signing up new donors, especially younger people, to the stem cell register. I’m very proud to display our winner’s certificates in my office window too!
“I strongly hope that more people from our community will be inspired to sign up and show that together, we can provide a cure for blood cancer.”
Henny Braund, chief executive of Anthony Nolan, said: “It’s wonderful to have the support of Loughborough in achieving our goal of saving and improving the lives of people with blood cancer and blood disorders.”