Cardiff student Aimee Leadbetter donated her bone marrow to her brother and is now signing up more people to become donors as part of Cardiff Marrow student volunteering group.
Aimee, 22, says, ‘It was very scary when James was diagnosed with severe aplastic anaemia. I was only 14 at the time, and we were told that the only chance of my brother's survival would be to have an urgent bone marrow transplant. I can't describe how happy I felt when I found out that I was a match; I was so worried that he wouldn’t be able to find a donor.’
Aimee is now studying medicine at Cardiff University and has been a President of Cardiff Marrow for the last two years. The volunteers have been incredible and over the last two years Cardiff Marrow have recruited 907 potential donors to the bone marrow register.
Aimee says, ‘My Mum says that everything happens for a reason. I like to think that because of the horrible journey that James had to go through, I have now helped to give more people going through experiences like James', a chance of life.
‘I am so proud of our committee and volunteers this year; their commitment has been amazing. Having donated to my brother I can really appreciate how important Anthony Nolan's work is, and I know they will continue to save many lives.’
Charlotte Connolly, Regional Recruitment Manager at Anthony Nolan, says, ‘Aimee’s passion and commitment for Anthony Nolan is just incredible. All of the volunteers at Cardiff University have been amazing and are so enthusiastic about helping Anthony Nolan save more lives. Cardiff University is a perfect place to recruit more donors because we urgently need more young men to join the register.’
Find out more about student Marrow groups.
If you’re aged 16–30, find out more about joining the register online.