Parliament to host stem cell drop-in
The blood cancer and disorder charity Anthony Nolan is holding a parliamentary drop-in as part of its drive to recruit stem cell donors. The annual Communities vs Blood Cancer event will be held on 26 October from 1pm to 4pm in Terrace Dining Room B. It is sponsored by Conservative MP Mark Tami, chair of the APPG on Stem Cell Transplantation and Advanced Cellular Therapies, whose son had a bone marrow transplant.
The occasion will allow MPs, peers, staff and officials to sign up to the stem cell register via a single cheek swab. MPs will also be able to pick up a toolkit to help organise a donor recruitment event in their constituency.
Around 2,000 people a year in the UK need a stem cell donor to save their lives. Anthony Nolan aims to recruit more people from ethnic minorities, as they have significantly less chance of finding a matching stem cell from an unrelated donor, and more young men aged 16 to 30, as their donations provide a better chance of patient survival.