I have thrown my support behind a drive for increased bone marrow donation after meeting with a local cancer sufferer who is raising awareness of the cause.
I invited Simon Wilkes to my office in the town on Saturday on World Marrow Donor Day to discuss how people can join the register and then donate their bone marrow to help save lives.
Simon was diagnosed with the rare blood cancer Myelodysplastic Syndromes in 2013. At the time, he was a well-known local football coach. He joined the MDS UK Patient Support Group and works with the charity Anthony Nolan, along with other charities.
There is a global registry with millions of donors but more potential volunteer donors need to be recruited if more people are to be helped with matches.
Meeting Simon on World Marrow Donor Day was important and I fully support efforts to expand the register and recognise the tremendous work he does in our community. Simon is a family friend of Sam Astley, who made the news recently for declining Euros tickets to donate bone marrow - an act of kindness that has done much to promote this cause.
I hope people will see this is a worthwhile cause and get registered to help those with rare conditions like Simon’s.
Details of how to register to be a donor can be found at: https://www.anthonynolan.org/
The charity is looking for donors aged 16-30.
