Culture News Blog

Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Children's Secretary Ed Balls put their weight behind a campaign to raise awareness of bone marrow donation among young people.

The pair were among a group of MPs, including former home secretary David Blunkett, who signed a petition calling for youngsters to learn more about life-saving transplants.

About 1,300 requests are made in the UK every year for bone marrow matches but only about 500 are found.

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham put his name on the bone marrow register, which is open to people aged 18 to 40, in a recruitment drive held in the House of Commons. Mr Balls has already pledged that schools will receive information packs over the summer as part of Give and Let Live talks for 14 and 15-year-olds.

The drive comes after Mr Balls and Mr Johnson met 26-year-old Adrian Sudbury, from Sheffield, who has just weeks to live after losing an 18-month battle with leukaemia.

The journalist, who works for the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, has also met Prime Minister Gordon Brown and has made it his mission to push for better education about bone marrow, blood and organ donation for sixth-formers.

Mr Sudbury received a bone marrow transplant which, although it was not successful, did buy him valuable time with family and friends.

Mr Johnson joked that he was now secretary of the "Adrian Sudbury fan club". He added: "This is a really important issue about how we make young people aware both about the opportunity to give blood, but also of the chance to give bone marrow at the same time.

"It's not a painful process. People have all kinds of images of what it involves so the ability to put people at ease and tell them what it means to be a bone marrow donor is very important."

Mr Johnson said the Government was already taking action but it was "determined to do more".

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