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<<20 June 2008

MPs Join Bone Marrow Register

More than 30 MPs attended a clinic held in the House of Commons to back a bone marrow campaign on Wednesday.

The clinic was held by the Anthony Nolan Trust (ANT) which is one of the two bone marrow registers in the UK.

About 1,300 people need a bone marrow transplant in the UK every year but only about 500 can find matching donors.

Communication officer Caroline Berger from ANT said: “The drive was linked with Adrian Sudbury’s campaign, who’s been given weeks to live.”

The 26-year-old Sheffield journalist has been fighting leukaemia for 18 months, and after a failed transplantation, he determined to use whatever time he has left to promote bone marrow donation.

Adrian has met the Prime Minister and has made it his mission to push for better education about bone marrow donation.

“We took a small blood sample to test and in the end 12 people joined in the register, including three cabinet members: MPs James Purnell, Andy Burnham and Dawn Primerolo,” Ms Berger said.

She said: “The donor needs to be between 18 to 40 years old and have good health.

“We regard the campaign to be in the first stage, and we hope that government and charity work together could be the next stage.”

4 July 2008>>