MID FIFE AND GLENROTHES MSP ENCOURAGES STEM CELL DONOR REGISTRATION

Published date : 03 Jan 2020

Jenny Gilruth, MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, is calling on constituents to sign up to the Anthony Nolan stem cell donor register.

In Mid Fife and Glenrothes, 1311 potential stem cell donors are registered with Anthony Nolan. 23% of these donors are men aged 16-30, and the average age is 34.

In total, more than 760,000 people in the UK are on the Anthony Nolan register, any of whom could be a match for someone with blood cancer and asked to donate their stem cells to give a patient a second chance of life.

Ms Gilruth is encouraging more people from the Kingdom, particularly men aged 16-30 and people from ethnic minority backgrounds, to register as stem cell donors and make sure that a match is available for everyone in need of a transplant.

While anyone on the register could be a match for someone with blood cancer, men aged 16-30 are most likely to be asked to donate. They provide more than 50% of donations yet make up just 18% of the register.

Commenting on the figures for her constituency, the MSP said:

“I am very proud that Mid Fife and Glenrothes has 1311 registered stem cell donors, any one of whom could offer the only chance of giving someone with blood cancer a second chance at life.

“Donating stem cells is straightforward but it could make an enormous difference to someone with no other chance of a cure.

“I would especially like to commend the great work of Anthony Nolan in engaging local communities, particularly secondary schools across Scotland. More than 147 more donors have been added to the register in the constituency in the past year. Their steadfast commitment over the past ten years has had a truly lifesaving impact.”

Henny Braund, Chief Executive of Anthony Nolan, said:

“In the last year 1311 selfless people from Mid Fife and Glenrothes joined the Anthony Nolan register, each one representing hope for patients with blood cancer, and blood disorders, in need of matching stem cell donors.

“To everyone from Mid Fife and Glenrothes who has taken the decision to join the register, thank you.

“We rely on young people aged 16-30 joining the register now to save lives in the future. Without you, there is no cure.”

For more information on Anthony Nolan visit anthonynolan.org/join.

ENDS

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