This month marks the fifth anniversary since Adrian passed away on 20 August 2008, aged 27. It also represents a major milestone in his campaign to raise awareness about life saving donation.
Adrian’s legacy is the Register & Be A Lifesaver (R&Be) education programme, which has inspired thousands of young people to become potential lifesavers by registering as blood, organ, and bone marrow (or stem cell) donors. Since it launched, R&Be has reached more than 96,000 16 to 18 year olds with its message. More than 4,300 of those young people have signed up as potential bone marrow donors, over 7,400 have registered a blood donors and over 2,300 have joined the organ donor register.
R&Be, funded and run by Anthony Nolan, has been a vital tool in educating 16 to 18 year olds about donation, as there is no prescriptive national curriculum for students of that age group in sixth forms and colleges.
Volunteer presenters are trained to deliver the facts about donation to young people, allowing them to make an informed choice about whether they would like to register as potential lifesavers.
Through his own illness, Adrian realised the importance of donation and learnt of the lack of general public awareness surrounding the issue. Between May and August 2008, Adrian campaigned for all 16 to 18 year olds to be educated about the importance of blood, bone marrow, and organ donation. Shortly before his death, he met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and presented a petition at 10 Downing Street to Ed Balls, then Secretary of State for the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
Keith Sudbury, Adrian’s father, says, ‘As Adrian’s parents we are very proud of what has been achieved and Adrian would be absolutely delighted. Adrian’s wish was beautiful in its simplicity. All he wanted was to educate every 16 to 18 year old about blood, bone marrow and organ donation. They are then in a position to make informed decisions. Already lives have been saved. It has been wonderful to see the maturity of our young adults and how willing they have been to become involved in donation.’
Katie Day, R&Be Supervisor at Anthony Nolan, says, ‘Five years ago, nobody could have envisaged just how successful R&Be would be. None of these achievements would have been possible without the vision of an inspirational young man and the support of a truly committed team of volunteers.
‘Young people are more likely to be chosen by doctors to donate bone marrow and R&Be is proving to be a fantastic way of reaching these vitally-important potential lifesavers. We want to continue to expand R&Be and hope that in the future, with support from the government and education sector, this will be a national education programme. We are urging all local sixth forms and colleges to host an R&Be presentation and help us engage with young people about how they can be potential lifesavers.’
The Register and Be a Lifesaver currently operates in Yorkshire, The Midlands, Merseyside, Bristol, and Greater London. Find out more here.