OKEHAMPTON Round Table is urging young men aged 16 to 30 to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell donor register.

Anthony Nolan matches individuals willing to donate their blood stem cells or bone marrow to people with blood cancer and blood disorders who desperately need lifesaving transplants.

In 1986, Round Table clubs across the UK and Ireland were instrumental in adding 100,000 new names to the Anthony Nolan register and 30 years on, Round Table clubs are teaming up with the Anthony Nolan charity again, this time targeting young men.

Mark House, national president of Round Table, is urging young men to get involved. He said: ‘Men aged 16 to 30 are the most in demand as stem cell donors but they make up just 15 per cent of the Anthony Nolan register. Round Table clubs were instrumental in getting Anthony Nolan to where it is today and as a young man’s organisation, I hope we can encourage more young men to join the donor register.’

Ann O’Leary, head of register development at Anthony Nolan, said: ‘We’re delighted to restart our lifesaving partnership with the Round Table. We urgently need more people, especially young men, to join the register. Most people have a one in 900 chance of being chosen to donate. But young men have a one in 200 chance. What many people don’t realise is how simple it is to join the stem cell register — it involves filling in a form and providing a saliva sample.

‘For those who go on to donate, about 90 per cent will donate through PBS (peripheral blood stem cell collection). This is a straightforward process, carried out as an outpatient procedure, where you an potentially save the life of a person in desperate need of a transplant.’

For those interested in finding out more about Anthony Nolan and Round Table, visit www.anthonynolan.roundtable.co.uk