(Click on the above Movie Clapperboard icon to view the ACLT drive video)
‘Spit & Commit’ Be the ONE to register and be a lifesaver
SUPER HEROES WANTED!
Bone Marrow | Blood
We’ve made registering even easier with a quick & easy 'Spit & Commit' registration event.
Wednesday 22nd September 2010 - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Time: 10am - 5pm
Westminster City Hall
3rd Floor
64 Victoria Street
London, SW1E 6QP
YOU can make a difference... It’s quick, its easy and now it only requires a small saliva test to become a potential life-saver.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE 2 DONATION PROCEDURES
New dates have been added to our 2010 registration drives calendar. Look in the donor drives and events sections of our website.
New dates in London and other cities will be added to our 2010 list of registration drives. Please look at our website for further updates.
All we ask of you, especially if you are from the Black, Mixed Race and Ethnic Minority community and aged between 18-40 in relatively good health and not obese or under 8 stone, is to give up 30 minutes of your day to come down to the registration clinic venue where you can complete the application form, be counselled about the donation procedures and if you are ever found to be a matched donor what your preparation would be. This is followed by a Q & A's session and finally giving small saliva sample. The sample is taken to determine your bone marrow tissue type and these details with your name and location will be added on to a database of potential donors for patients awaiting matches around the world. On completion we will arm you with various bits of information and our contact details, just in case you need to speak with us in the future about anything.
If any of the ACLT dates or venues is not convenient to you or you are aged between the ages of 41-49 then we would strongly suggest that you contact the National Blood Service. The NBS has the 2nd largest register in the UK of potential bone marrow donors called the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR). The age to register onto the BBMR is between 18-49. The NBS are always in your area promoting the need for blood donation as well as the urgency for new potential bone marrow donors.
Please call them on 0300 123 23 23 and quote reference 'R20 - ACLT'
Tell them you want to become a blood and bone marrow donor, they will ask what area you live or work in and can direct you to the closest donation session taking place possibly that same day. They will also post out to you information on blood registration drives in your area. Another easy way of finding your nearest public session is via their website link www.blood.co.uk. Just type in your home town or your postcode and you'll find plenty to choose from. And you don't even have to register before doing so. Just turn up on the day.
If you are willing and able to donate a unit of blood as well as joining the bone marrow register please give them a call. It is imperative that you must ensure to inform the NBS staff at the registration clinic that you want to also register as a potential Bone Marrow donor. (Do not presume that the NBS staff will automatically test you for Bone Marrow purposes) You will then be asked to read and sign the necessary Bone Marrow form in addition to the standard Blood Transfusion form. When you are donating a unit of blood for transfusion purposes, a small amount will also be taken and put aside for Bone Marrow testing.
You should not give blood via the National Blood Service if:
You've already given blood in the last 12 weeks
(normally, you must wait 16 weeks).
You have a chesty cough, sore throat or active cold sore (although the end of a cold is OK).
You're currently taking antibiotics or you have just finished a course within the last seven days.
You've had ear or body piercing or tattoos in the last 6 months.
You have received blood or think you may have received blood during the
course of any medical treatment or procedure anywhere in the world since 1st January 1980.
You've had a serious illness or major surgery in the past or are currently on medication.
Please discuss this with the clinical staff. The reason you're taking medicines
may prevent you from donating.
You've had complicated dental work. Simple fillings are OK after 24 hours,
as are simple extractions after 7 days.
You've been in contact with an infectious disease or have been given certain
immunisations in the last four weeks.
You're presently on a hospital waiting list or undergoing medical tests.
Please wait 6 months after returning from a malarial area before giving blood.
Thank you for reading our note, if you have any queries please feel free to contact us at the ACLT office. Thanking you in anticipation and hoping that we will see you with family and friends at one of the recruitment drives if not registering directly with the NBS or Anthony Nolan, because time is desperately running out.
Kind Regards
Beverley De-Gale & Orin Lewis – Co-Founders of the ACLT
