#HASC16 Partners with ACLT for Donor Drive to Find Match for Tommy - Hoopsfix.com

#HASC16 Partners with ACLT for Donor Drive to Find Match for Tommy

One of the most respected blood cancer charities in the UK is celebrating its 20th anniversary by hosting a large-scale donor registration drive at the third annual Hoopsfix All-Star Classic event on Sunday 5th June.

The one-day basketball showcase will host the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) donor registration drive in the main sports hall at Brixton Recreation Centre, Brixton, during the games. ACLT will be registering anyone in good health aged 16-55; registrants will be asked to complete a short application form and provide a cheek swab.

The donor drive will also run as a patient appeal for the #Match4Tommy campaign. Earlier this year ACLT launched the #Match4Tommy to find a matched stem cell donor for 4-year-old Tommy Simpson. Within weeks of its launch, the campaign secured over 4,500 individuals to join the UK Stem Cell Register to help save Tommy’s life.

Tommy was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), after being admitted to hospital a few days before Christmas. Tommy remained at Great Ormond Street hospital up until a few weeks ago when he was recently discharged to return home after completing his fourth round of chemotherapy.

While the treatment appears to be working, Tommy parents; London Firefighter Nigel Simpson, 48 and Education Associate at Mary Kay Cosmetics (UK), Maxine Francis, 45, continue with their urgent appeal to find Tommy, a potentially lifesaving stem cell donor in the event he relapses.

Maxine Francis, Mother to 4-year-old Tommy Simpson said:

“Tommy doesn’t have any siblings, so the 1 in 4 chance of a sibling being a match doesn’t exist for Tommy. It is at best a 50% chance for parents to be a match for their children; this is normally a route a doctor will go down when they can’t find anything better.

“We know the window of opportunity for an unrelated match to be found is going fast with each day passing; that’s why we are appealing for members of the public to join the stem cell register now. Particularly if you are White Northern European, Black African or Caribbean and mixed race (white/black), you may potentially be able to save the life of our funny and beautiful little boy”.

There are only 3% of donors on the UK Stem Cell Register, who are mixed race, making Tommy’s chances of finding an unrelated donor extremely difficult.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to support the incredible work ACLT is doing, particularly in their 20th year,” Hoopsfix.com founder Sam Neter said.

“With the Hoopsfix All-Star Classic and basketball in general, attracting a large black and ethnic minority audience, the event is the perfect place to help increase the stem cell donor register, and in particular, try and find a match for Tommy.”

ACLT have increased the numbers of individuals on the UK Stem Cell Register significantly, by registering over 70,000 individuals of all races. The charity has also boosted the number of sign-ups to the Blood Donor Register by registering tens of thousands of donors in addition to over 4,000 onto the Organ Donor Register, since 2010.

“There is no better way for ACLT to celebrate our anniversary than by doing what we do best – encouraging members of the public to do something amazing,” Orin Lewis OBE, ACLT co-founder enthused.

“To join the donor registers to help save the life of someone who is in desperate need. We are thrilled to celebrate our anniversary with the support from GLL and Hoopsfix in this way. We’re appealing to all attendees on the day, to visit our stand to sign up and join the donor registers.”

Darren Pope, General Manager of Better’s Brixton Recreation, added:

“We are delighted to be able to host the third Hoopsfix All Star Classic alongside the ACLT donor drive. As a not-for-profit charitable social enterprise, Better is committed to helping the local community get more active more often, as well as helping raise the awareness of health issues.”

The #Match4Tommy donor registration drive at the Hoopsfix All-Star Classic will take place on Sunday 5th June between 1 pm – 6 pm at Brixton Recreation Centre, 127 Brixton Station Road, Brixton, SW9 8QQ.

Proud supporters of the Hoopsfix All Star Classic include Molten, Red Bull, 2tall.com, Sportserve Ltd, Bigfoot Basketball, 5or6, Let Me Play, Basketball MegastoreAlways Ballin, Custom College Recruiting, and Wilkie TV.

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