Hi, my name is Paulyn Brown and I am Jamal Brown's mother
Jamal is 21 years of age, he is fit and always playing sport and so it came as a complete shock when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma last summer (2011)
Hodgkin's Lymphoma is a blood related cancer and it is a cancer of the lymphatic system - the network of lymph glands and channels which occurs throughout the body
He had just returned from a year studying in China as part of a degree in Business Studies at Nottingham University when he was diagnosed
So far, Jamal has received two courses of chemotherapy treatment under St George's Hospital in Tooting South London and is now under Nottingham's University Hospital. The treatment will last up until Christmas 2012 and then Jamal will need a bone marrow donor
Jamal's father and I are both Jamaican and the likelihood is that the closest match is likely to be from someone of African heritage. We need to find Jamal a bone marrow donor urgently, as the treatment alone is not enough
I am so proud of Jamal he's been so calm and focused and is very positive about the treatment. If you are reading our story and want to help Jamal and others like Jamal, please step forward as a potential bone marrow donor. " You could be the match we need to save our son's life or you could be a life saving match for someone else
We are working with the African Caribbean Leukemia Trust (ACLT). ACLT's main aim is to increase the number of Black, Mixed Race and Ethnic Minority people on the UK Bone Marrow Register
There is a huge shortage of African & Caribbean donors on the bone marrow registers and no unrelated match, as yet, has been found for Jamal
We are hoping that somebody from the African or Caribbean community will come forward to be a match for Jamal and give him the ‘gift of life'. To do this they need to be on the bone marrow register by either going to one of the ACLT registration clinics or contacting the Anthony Nolan Trust CLICK HERE or National Blood Service - British Bone Marrow Registry CLICK HERE
Please CLICK HERE to find out where you can go to register as a potential bone marrow donor via the ACLT
Or better still, CLICK HERE to send an email to ACLT Donor Recruitment Team if you can help register even one or two more people or if you could offer to help in any way like hosting a recruitment clinic at your work, church or social club etc. Or maybe you might have useful links in the media which could help publicise Jamal's story
We need your help right now. Our family and friends are thinking and praying for Jamal and I thank them including the medical staff at St Georges and University Hospital in Nottingham
As I am sure you understand, Jamal and I can't speak to everyone.
However, ACLT will keep me updated about what people have volunteered to do for Jamal.
Please don't wait. Just contact ACLT by email CLICK HERE and share this page with as many people as possible
Paulyn Brown
Jamal's mother
