Friday 17 October 2008

Bone marrow drive in London

I was asked by a fellow blogger, William Wolfrum, whom I also consider a virtual friend, if I would cross-post for him here, since I may be lucky enough to have more UK readers than he does, and so, without further ado:

Like virtually all other nations on the planet, England needs bone marrow donors to come forward and offer the gift of life to the many in need of a bone marrow transplant to survive. Tomorrow in London there’s a registration drive happening. Here’s the vitals:

REGISTRATION DRIVE

Saturday, October 18, 2008
11:00am - 4:30pm
Barclays Bank
126 Station Road HA8 7RY
London, United Kingdom

The event is being held by the African Caribbean Leukemia Trust. From my friend Tamu Townsend:

“It doesn’t take much time to register and requires a teaspoon of blood. That’s it. If you match, you will be guided every step of the way. The ACLT’s current campaign is Heroes Wanted. You don’t have to run into a burning building or have superpowers to be a hero. Just a willingness to help.”

If you’re someone who likes to help people, joining the bone marrow donor registry is one of the easiest ways you can not just help someone, but actually save a life. Finding a bone marrow match is a number’s game. And every registry desperately needs more numbers.

If you’re in the U.S. and want to join the registry, head over to the National Marrow Donor Program at www.marrow.org or send me an e-mail at wkwolfrum(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thanks,

Bill

I really must go and give blood again so I can complete the process, especially as a South Asian with a B+ blood type - both of which are pretty rare on the registry, from what I understand.

Please everyone, wherever you are: Oxford, London, Newcastle, Rome, Paris, New York or Sydney - please join the bone marrow registry.

It costs so little, but the dividends are huge.

And take it from me, even in today's troubled climate, that's a risk worth taking.

2 comments:

William K Wolfrum said...

Thank you so much, Irim. You're awesome (or is that spelled "awesoume" in the UK? ;)

Even if one person extra joins the registry from this post, it's truly great. Because all it took was one person to save my mother's life from leukemia when she needed (and received) a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor :)

Pragmatic Mystic said...

LOL, sans u, por favour...oops, there I go! ;)

You're most welcome, hon - I should do more of this, so thank YOU for the opportunity.

As I've said over at yours, have you thought of crossposting at Liss'? She has a tonne of UK Shakers.

xx