image credit @LondonFire
A young boy with potentially life-threatening leukaemia is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant. Tommy Simpson, who loves nothing more than to dress up like his firefighter father, faces a huge battle in finding a bone marrow match.
This adorable little boy is currently being treated at London’s Great Ormond Street hospital. He is of a mixed race background, which means his chances of finding a match are very low. Tommy’s family is appealing for black and mixed race donors.
According to the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), who is hosting donor registration drives:
“Mixed race people like Tommy have less than a 20 per cent chance of finding an unrelated best possible match; as do individuals who are black or from a minority ethnic background. There are only three per cent of donors on the UK stem cell register who are mixed race, making Tommy’s chances of finding an unrelated donor extremely difficult.”
image credit @LondonFire
His parents, told The Metro: “We know the window of opportunity for an unrelated match being found is going fast with each day passing; that’s why we are appealing for people to join the stem cell register now.”
Individuals of mixed race, like Tommy, have less than a 20% chance of finding an unrelated best possible match. There are only 3% of donors on the UK stem cell register who are mixed race, making Tommy’s chances of finding an unrelated donor exceptionally difficult.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
image credit @LondonFire
Please help us to spread as much awareness on Tommy’s appeal, in the hope together, we’re able to find a lifesaving donor. If you’re White Northern European, Black African or Caribbean and mixed race, please become a donor on the stem cell register. And retweet/share this information all over the internet using the hashtag #Match4Tommy.
You could help save the life of an amazing little boy. You can also help by lending your su pport to the #Match4Tommy campaign or registering on the stem cell donor register. For more information call 020 37577700 or visit www.aclt.org/match4tommy
