Bone Marrow Donations in UK Parliament
5 Mar. 2013Bone Marrow donations will be discussed tomorrow in parliament – 06/03/13 – at about 12.30pm – after Prime Minister Question Time.
This is tied to an Early Day Motion tabled since the 27/02/13 – suggesting that educational sessions be made available in schools for all 16-18 year olds – about how their bone marrow donation could save lives.
Here is the link to the debate:
Ten Minute Rule Motion
http://services.parliament.uk/calendar/#!/calendar/Commons/MainChamber/2013/3/6/events.html
And this is the EDM – which we encourage all MP’s to sign.
Please tell your MP about it.
http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/1126
That this House recognises that there are currently 1,600 people waiting for a life-saving bone marrow transplant in the UK; understands that the growing number of people on the bone marrow register is critical to meeting this transplant need; further understands that young people make the best bone marrow donors; supports the work of the voluntary Register and Be a Lifesaver programme run by Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant in providing educational sessions in schools and colleges which provide information to young people about how to become a bone marrow, blood or organ donor; and calls on the Secretary of State for Education to consider the ways in which such educational sessions can be made available in every school or college in England to ensure every 16 to 18 year old understands how they can become a potential life-saver by joining the bone marrow register.
This is part of the Anthony Nolan campaign for its Register and Be a Lifesaver education programme on blood, organ, and bone marrow donation to be a compulsory part of education for 16-18 year olds.
You can view the session on Parliament TV:
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Live.aspx
Here is more background on the campaign:
Just 50% of people who need a bone marrow transplant will find a matching donor, and there are over 7,000 people currently waiting for donated organs. Increasing the number of donors in the UK will help save more lives.
On Wednesday 6 March, Labour MP Seema Malhotra will introduce Adrian’s Law (the Blood, Organ and Bone Marrow Donation (Education) Bill) under a Ten Minute Rule Motion in the House of Commons.
Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham and Heston, says, ‘Education about blood, organ, and bone marrow donation is essential for giving young people the information and awareness to make the decision to be a donor, and enable the NHS to save more lives. Introducing this education is a vital measure for securing a long-term solution to address the donor shortage.’
‘The problem is compounded for people from ethnic minority backgrounds. A white northern European person has a 90% chance of finding a bone marrow donor. However, this drops to just 40% for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.’
The call for compulsory education for 16-18 year olds comes after impressive results from a pioneering education programme, Register and Be a Lifesaver (R&Be), run by Anthony Nolan with NHS Blood and Transplant.
R&Be is the legacy of young journalist Adrian Sudbury. Adrian Sudbury spent the last two years of his life campaigning for better education about stem cell donation. Since 2009, volunteers have spoken to almost 80,000 students about blood, organ and bone marrow donation.
Victoria Moffett, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Anthony Nolan, says, ‘We are determined to continue Adrian’s legacy and engage with all young people about the idea of donation. We hope Members of Parliament recognise the importance of this bill in ensuring that the NHS can provide donated blood, organs and bone marrow to those who desperately need them and that they can continue to do so in the future.’
This is connected to the fantastic campaign led for Sharon Berger – by her 2 children Caroline and Jonni Berger.
Sharon Berger still has no suitable donor – and more registration drives need to be set up all over the country to find the right match for her.
Please help by getting together with friends, students, work colleagues, school-children to set up a registration event.
We remind everyone that anyone aged 16-30 can register to donate bone marrow – through Anthony Nolan.
Anyone aged 30-50 can donate via the British Bone Marrow Registry – if they already are blood donors.
Let’s get all students to sign up!
See all details on our main page about Sharon here: https://mdspatientsupport.org.uk/search-for-a-stem-cell-donor/
