THE father of Bellshill leukaemia sufferer Richard Colson has made a fresh appeal for people to sign up for the bone marrow register after no match was found.
In 2004 Richard (22) was diagnosed with a rare blood disease called severe aplastic anaemia and needs a bone marrow transplant to live.
However his family have received the heartbreaking news that despite a worldwide search by the Anthony Nolan Tr
ust no suitable donor has been found.
His father Robert said: "Everyone is unique but there is someone out there who will be a bone marrow match for Richard and it is just about getting the message out there to encourage people to sign up for the register.
"Due to the genetics involved the only places we can look to help Richard are Western Europe, North America and Australasia as other races aren't compatible but cultural mixing is making the search more difficult.
"At present there are 390,000 people on the register in Britain but that is only a very small amount and we're starting a national campaign to make people more aware of the register and to sign up.
"There is nothing frightening about joining, when anyone goes to give blood all they have to do is say they'd like to go on the register and they'll take a blood sample which will then be analysed.
"It might not be Richard's life they end up saving, it could be someone else, but I'll use every breath I have to save my son and to promote the register because we know that if he gets the transplant he'll be
cured ... but that is his only chance."
For more information about joining the bone marrow register visit
www.anthonynolan.org.uk or call 09018833324.
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