A recruitment event held last month in conjunction with the Jaskomal Foundation, has recruited 127 Asian people onto the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register.
The event, organised by Joban Sher-gill, was held in memory of his sister Jaskomal, who died in January aged 23 after being diagnosed withlymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
Joban donated bone marrow to Jaskomal after finding out he was a match, but she sadly passed away due to complications. He is now determined to raise awareness of the need for more Asian people to join the bone marrow register to give other patients a chance of life.
Joban said: ‘The transplant gave Jaskomal a new hope and a new lease of life. She took it as her being reborn. She was so happy and elated, she felt like it was a lifesaving moment.If I wasn’t a match for my sister, we would have had to find an unrelated donor, and the chance of finding somebody would have been slim. I want other Asian people to have the same chance.’
The campaign was launched during the Vaisakhi celebrations at the Hitchin Gurdwara, with 127 people joining the register.
Joban said: ‘It was a huge response, better than expected. We were overwhelmed with the support from the community.’
Lynsey Dickson, regional recruitment manager at Anthony Nolan, added: ‘An Asian person with blood cancer who needs a lifesaving transplant has only a 40% chance of finding a match.We urgently need more people from Asian backgrounds to join the Anthony Nolan register to give these patients a chance of life.’
To find out more about the campaign, visit www.jaskomalfoundation.org.
For the latest data and information, visit our
Facts & Stats page