Registering as a stem cell donor is a quick and easy process involving a simple mouth swab

Haringey’s Greek and Cypriot community is being asked to help donate stem cells after a toddler was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Working with blood cancer charity DKMS, which holds the UK’s largest register of potential stem cell donors, the Leukaemia Cancer Society has organised a special stem cell donor registration event in Hornsey to try and find a stem cell match for Saylor and other patients with blood cancers or disorders who need a stem cell transplant.

Registering as a stem cell donor is a quick and easy process involving a simple mouth swab, offering hope to blood cancer patients who are still urgently in need of a compatible stem cell match. If you are aged from 17 to 55 tears and in general good health, you’re eligible to join the DKMS register.

Leukaemia Cancer Society spokesperson, Androulla Stylianou, said: “People in need of a stem cell transplant, are more likely to die from their disease if, like Saylor, they are of mixed heritage or from an ethnic minority.

“At the Leukaemia Cancer Society, we are working hard to create awareness and diversify the register, helping to give everyone, regardless of ethnicity, an equal chance of surviving blood cancer. We would love as many people as possible to get involved.”

DKMS spokesperson Deborah Hyde says: “If you are found to be a match for someone needing a transplant, then in nine out of ten cases, donating your stem cells is a simple process similar to giving blood. Every 20 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer, so you could be giving someone a second chance at life.”

Blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK. Every year, nearly 13,000 people die from blood cancer in the UK. At any one time there are around 2,000 people in the UK in need of a stem cell transplant.

The stem cell donation event is taking place on Sunday, 7th July, from 1pm to 2.30pm, at St John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, Wightman Road, Hornsey, N8 0LY. Anyone unable to attend the event can instead request a swab kit online at dkms.org.uk

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