Bedford Park runners are being asked to register as potential blood stem cell donors and go on standby to save a life.
Tomorrow (20 April) the DKMS team will host a public registration event at the Bedford Park Run, at the Pavillion, from 8.30 -11.30am.
They’re encouraging people aged between 17-55 to swab their cheeks to become a potential lifesaver with blood cancer charity DKMS.
Once registered, they’ll go on standby to potentially give someone with blood cancer or disorder a second chance at life if their stem cells match.
Jacqui Thompson, a dedicated runner and volunteer member of the DKMS Bedfordshire Volunteer Hub, lost both her husband and stepson to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Her husband, David, discovered he had the condition soon after their daughter’s first birthday in 1995.
David lived with the condition for a number of years but unfortunately lost his fight with blood cancer in February 2002 on his 51st birthday, as a matching blood stem cell donor could not be found in time.
Her stepson, Jimmy, was just 16 years old when he lost his life.
Jacqui said: “I want to help raise awareness of this wonderful organisation, whose aim is raise awareness and increase the number of potential blood stem cell donors, so a match can be found for everyone in need.
“I have seen first hand how blood cancer affects families; it’s a horrible condition.
“We need more people to come forward and become blood stem cell donors, so I would urge people to come down and spare moment to swab.”
Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Many people never find the lifesaving blood stem cell donor match they need. This isn’t because a match doesn’t exist, it’s simply because there aren’t enough people registered as donors.
To register one potential blood stem cell donor it costs £40. DKMS relies on monetary donations to help cover this cost you can help with these costs by donating online.
