A student volunteer group from the University of Southampton will be sharing a life-saving message at this year’s Southampton Marathon Festival.
‘Southampton Marrow’, which supports the Anthony Nolan charity, has just signed up its 200-thousandth potential stem cell donor.
Every 13 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with blood cancer. For many of them, a stem cell transplant will be their best chance of survival. Yet just one in four patients will find a matching donor within their own family, leaving the remaining 75% dependent on strangers willing to join a stem cell register. This year, the ABP Southampton Marathon Festival is set to play a small but significant role in changing that reality.
Universities are among the most productive recruitment environments because young donors are the most valuable. Young men, for example, make up just 18% of the register but provide over 54% of all transplants. While anyone can donate up to the age of 61, the younger the donor, the greater the likelihood they will be called upon to give.
Across all Marrow groups, approximately 1 in every 100 people who sign up goes on to donate - each one potentially giving a patient a second chance at life.
Southampton Marrow is run entirely by students in their spare time. The group currently has more than 10 active volunteers, six of whom sit on the committee, and organises donor recruitment drives, fundraising activities and awareness campaigns alongside their full-time studies.
Bailey Deacon, President of Southampton Marrow, said: "We are a group of full-time students running all of this in our spare time - fundraising, donor recruitment, awareness events - because we know how much it matters. Every person who stops at our stall and signs up could be the match that someone desperately needs, and events like the ABP Southampton Marathon give us the perfect opportunity to reach people we might never have met otherwise. We're incredibly excited to be here for the first time. We'd love everyone racing over the weekend to take a moment to find out how simple it can be to save a life."
Talia Adams, University Manager at Anthony Nolan said, “Southampton Marrow is a remarkable example of what young people can achieve when they channel their energy into something that truly matters."
Festival-goers will be able to find out more and join the donor register on the 3rd of May.
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