Appeal for Streatham bone marrow donors

Cathy Ashley, from Rosendale Road, Tulse Hill, said she was “eternally grateful” to the donor who gave bone marrow to save Caroline Hewitt, from Streatham Hill, after chemotherapy treatment to fight her leukaemia failed.

Like some 16,000 patients seeking a suitable bone marrow donor worldwide, Mrs Hewitt, who is the chair of Lambeth Primary Care Trust, was incompatible with her relatives’ bone marrow and needed to find a donor elsewhere to survive.

Mrs Ashley said: “I’m eternally grateful to the person who saved Cathy’s life. If you could give that same gift of life to another person, what greater thing could you do with your life.”

She has organised a special clinic at Rosendale Primary School – where her daughter is a pupil - on January 29 to give people the chance to add their names to the donor register.

There will also be the chance to talk to staff from the Anthony Nolan Trust about what being a donor entails, and the difference it can make.

Bone marrow is required to fight cancer because it is where new blood cells which fight infection are made.

Mrs Hewitt, who still does not know who her donor was, joined in calling for people to join the register.

She said: “To save the life of a complete stranger is truly a wonderful thing, and I can only say how happy and thankful there was that there was someone there to help me.”

She said she felt the donor not only saved her life, but the life of her nine-year-old daughter Freya.

“I would just urge people to come to the clinic and find out about being a donor because the gift of life is truly a wonderful thing,” she added.

New donors must be aged between 18 and 40, and be in good health.

Male donors, young donors and ethnic minority donors are in particular demand.

The clinic at Rosendale School will be held from 3pm to 7pm.

• To find out more visit anthonynolan.org.uk or telephone the trust direct on 020 7284 1234.