Chloe Smith encourages Norwich residents to sign up to become potential lifesavers

Chloe Smith, Member of Parliament for Norwich North has backed Delete Blood Cancer UK’s call for more people in Norwich to sign up to become blood stem cell donors.

 

The charity that recruits potential blood stem cell donors, is asking for more Norwich residents to register to become a potential lifesaver. Currently, only 1,114 from the Norwich area are registered as potential blood stem cell donors with Delete Blood Cancer UK, but many more are being sought to help find matches for the thousands of blood cancer patients needing a blood stem cell donation every year.

 

For many blood cancer patients, a blood stem cell donation is their only chance of survival and they will die if a matching donor isn’t found for them.  A matching donor not being found doesn’t mean that there is nobody with a tissue type compatible with the patient. There could be someone out there with a tissue type that matches the patient’s, meaning they could save their life, but tragically, they may not be registered as a potential blood stem donor.

 

Chloe comments: “Registering to be a blood stem cell donor only takes a few minutes to do and could mean helping save someone’s life, I urge anyone who feels able to do so to sign up and become a potential donor.

 

 

 

Emphasising how easy it is for people to register, Caroline Portlock, Head of Donor Recruitment at Delete Blood Cancer UK, said: “Registering online as a potential blood stem cell donor only takes a few minutes but it could lead to you giving decades to someone else. It could lead to you saving the life of someone with blood cancer who is in need of a blood stem cell donation for their survival. Please take the time to do it as it could be one of the most important things you ever do.”

You can register in five minutes online and request a cheek swab kit that will enable you to do your own tissue test to go on the database and maybe one day become a blood stem cell donor. Register through the Delete Blood Cancer UK website www.deletebloodcancer.org.uk