A teenage life-saver from Colchester is backing our campaign to hep find more young heroes.
In June this year, Celyn Evans, 17, became one of the youngest people in the UK to donate stem cells to a seriously ill stranger.
Now, he is supporting our ‘Save A Life At 16’ campaign which aims to persuade HMRC to include details about stem cell donation when it writes to young people with their National Insurance numbers ahead of their 16th birthdays.
Celyn said: “You often hear that young people are self absorbed and not interested in helping others, but I think that’s wrong. People just need to be made aware of how they can help. That is why I am supporting this campaign.”
Celyn's story
Celyn joined the Anthony Nolan bone marrow donor register in September 2013 after his brother’s friend developed leukaemia.
He was not able to help his brother’s friend but in February this year we contacted him to say that he was a possible match for another patient in need of a potentially life-saving transplant.
Celyn generously agreed to donate and, after a series of check-ups, he made the donation in London in June.
Like 90 per cent of donors, he gave his stem cells through a simple, outpatient process similar to giving blood. Read more about the PBSC method of donation.
He said: “It’s a very simple process, and I am surprised more people don’t do it. But I think it’s just down to people knowing about it, which is where Anthony Nolan’s idea of telling every 16 year old comes in.”
Help us Save a Life at 16
Celyn is supporting the charity’s ‘Save A Life At 16’ campaign which launched at the start of September. It aims to persuade HMRC to send details about the charity to young people when they receive their National Insurance numbers ahead of their 16th birthday.
It is hoped this would lead to an increase in the number of young people on the register as they are most likely to be chosen as donors.
So far, 7,800 people have signed a petition in support of the idea and celebrities, including Stephen Fry, Bobby Cole Norris and Charlotte Crosby have tweeted about it.
Henny Braund, Chief Executive of Anthony Nolan, said: “Every year in the UK around 2,000 people with blood cancer need stem cell donations from a stranger. We believe young people are passionate about helping others, but they also need to be well informed about the chances open to them.
“By agreeing to our proposal, the government can make it easier for people as young as 16 to become life-savers.”
