An appeal for new donors has broken records for Anthony Nolan, with 1,074 people coming forward to join our stem cell register in one day.
The recruitment event was held in East Kilbride on Sunday 9th October, to try and find a matching donor for three year old Ryan Ferguson, who was diagnosed with leukaemia earlier this year.
Stuart Ferguson, Ryan’s father, says, “Instead of sitting by a hospital bed and just watching Ryan trying to fight this, I’d rather put the word out there that donating isn’t a big deal. People don’t know how simple this is and how important it is. This is about raising awareness of how easy it is to join the Anthony Nolan register – and how important it is.”
Rebecca Sedgwick, regional recruitment manager for Anthony Nolan, says, “We're absolutely amazed and delighted at the response to our appeal for new donors in East Kilbride on Sunday. We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came forward to join the register and also to the Strathclyde Fire Service for all their help organising and running the event. We'd also like to remind anyone who couldn't make the event that they can still sign up online."
We particularly needs more young men aged 18-30 to join the register, as they are the most likely to come up as donors yet account for just 12% of the register. If you can’t join the register but would like to donate money to Anthony Nolan instead, please visit www.justgiving.com/RyanFerguson or text RYAN70 then a pound sign and the amount you wish to donate to 70070.
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