JPF support Anthony Nolan making history!
The 1st October marked an incredible milestone in Anthony Nolan’s history, as 16 and 17-year-olds can now join the Anthony Nolan register. Teens across the country will make history as they become the youngest people in the world to sign up to a global network of potential donors willing to donate their bone marrow to save the lives of blood cancer patients.
The Jack Petchey Foundation is delighted to be supporting Anthony Nolan in this pioneering development.
Anthony Nolan comments:
'Changing our joining policy will help us to save even more lives, as younger people make the most successful donors for people with blood cancer. Doctors will always choose a younger donor if available.
We’ve already reached thousands of teens through our education project Register and Be a Lifesaver (R&Be), which was launched in March 2009 following a campaign by Nottinghamshire journalist Adrian Sudbury, who had been diagnosed with leukaemia three years before.'
Since then, R&Be volunteers have taught nearly 64,000 students the facts about blood, organ and bone marrow donation, through 1,110 presentations given in 376 schools across the country. As a result, nearly 5,500 young people have signed up to give blood, while nearly 1,500 have joined the organ donor register.
Keith Sudbury, Adrian’s father, says, 'Previously, those wishing to join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register had to wait until they were 18. It’s so good that 16 and 17-year-olds can now join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register, as it harnesses the momentum generated by the R&Be presentation. It is also very fitting that someone in Nottinghamshire will be the first 16-year-old in the world to actually join.
Jack Petchey CBE says: 'At the Jack Petchey Foundation we work with thousands of motivated young people who really want to help others. What greater way is there to help another than to potentially save a life? We recently ran a joint campaign with Anthony Nolan and young people under 18 were frustrated to find that they couldn’t sign up immediately; so we are really pleased that they have listened to young people’s views and become the first register in the world to accept donors from the age of 16.'
Anthony Nolan Chief Executive Henny Braund adds: 'The first ever bone marrow register was started in the UK in 1974 to find a donor for our namesake, Anthony Nolan. Since then, registers have sprung up across the world and together we save lives every day but many still die. Now we are taking the lead again by acting to lower the average age of donors and save even more lives.'
You now have to be 16–30 to join the Anthony Nolan register whereas previously, you had to be aged between 18 and 40. There are over 455,000 people on the Anthony Nolan register, but men and women under 30 account for just 23% of the register.
To read more and to consider being a donor click here.
Give a spit save a life!
Help us save the lives of people with blood cancer.
We need more young donors between the ages of 16-30 to sign up as these donors offer patients the best chance of survival.
Click the posters below to find out more about the event being held at West Ham FC - you will also get the chance to meet some of the players on the day too!
