In asking you to spit (especially if you are Jewish)?

[Zipitydooda]

.. And if you're not.

A friend's mum is urgently seeking a bone marrow donor in the next 5 weeks: If you are under 50 and not yet on the bone marrow register, please make it your priority! There are various ways to do so, and you could save a life. If not my friend's mum then someone else.

If you've registered, but you're not absolutely certain that your details are correct, please call the organisation in your area and make sure. More info and easy links below:

If you are 16-30: and not on the Anthony Nolan stem cell register, please consider requesting a spit kit in order to send a sample of saliva in the post - it only takes a few minutes to do. More details can be found from the links here, including eligibility criteria: is.gd/Spit4Mum

If you are under 50: and able to give blood, please consider going to a blood donor centre or a local donor session and asking to have your stem cells screened at the same time, more details here: is.gd/Donate4Mum

If you are already on the register: please make sure your details are up to date, if you can't be found, you can't be a lifesaver, more details here: is.gd/Update4Mum

If you are on Twitter: please use the hashtag #Spit4Mum to spread the word.

Copying and pasting on my phone so I hope this comes out right.

Jazz
If you are pregnant you may join the register but will not be made active until your baby is one year old.

You can also consider donating your baby's cord blood which is full of stem cells. It depends where you give birth whether they do it. I have signed up to do that when pregnant but the timing of my labours has always been such that no one was around to collect the cord blood.

Thanks everyone!

Anthony Nolan medical exclusion information: www.anthonynolan.org/What-you-can-do/save-a-life/Medical-exclusion-criteria.aspx

Why under 50?

Here's another useful link - to the Blood Transfusion Service about how they register people when they donate blood.

I am interested in this, I am breastfeeding can I still give blood/marrow?

I can't donate due to my medical conditions :( I emailed them to check as my conditions aren't listed, and my blood tests are always clear, but I'm not allowed. Will spread the word though.

I'm pregnant so would be no good for this case, but will sign up for the future.

How do you go about donating the cord??

Already on the register.

Good luck finding match

I wish I could , but barred as have cancer .
Will bump for you though x

After 6 months breastfeeding you can donate blood again. Not sure about marrow though.

Bumping :) I can't donate blood or bone marrow thanks to anaemia and possible latex allergy, but I bug my family and friends about it on a regular basis :)

Bump bump bump!

On the list already, though not Jewish so unlikely to help your friend. Wishing her the best of luck.

I am registered as a bone marrow donor, but am in Ireland, so am of no help to your friend's Mum. I do, however, have lots of family and friends in the UK, so will pass this on to them and urge them to join the Anthony Nolan register. I really hope your friend's Mum finds a donor soon.

Was hoping to sign up for this as I have some Jewish heritage, but see that medical exclusions include sciatica! Bumping this up in any case

I always feel bad that I have to say no I'm autoimmune and a thrombophiliac so I can't do anything like this.

Hope your friend finds a match soon.

Shadows - I believe most of these registers are now worldwide and exchange information so that if there is someone abroad who could help, the match can be made, so who knows, maybe you could be :)

Sadly I too am excluded on medical grounds (I even emailed AN Trust in the past to check and a reply came back that effectively said 'absolutely not, harvesting the bone marrow would be far too dangerous for you' - joint/spinal problems :( ) but posting to bump!

Unfortunately I don't live in the UK but on the anthonynolan website, it says that you should be aged under 30, not 50. Surely that would exclude so many potential donors (donating randomly is not something that would have occurred to me in my twenties)? Unfortunately we have had a sad case here in HK where the husband of a music teacher at my DD's school has been unable to find a donor. I will look into joining the Australian register. My mum had a kidney transplant due to polycystic kidneys and only the tragic death of a seventeen year old in a car accident saved her life.

I just registered. However I'm not Jewish and I have a 6 month old. I will encourage others to do the same.

I was just chatting to family (trying to press gang them into using our Jewish heritage) and one asked whether they could extend the appeal to Israel? But if it is a worldwide register perhaps that is already happening.

Thanks everyone for your support.

ok why is it only under 30s that can do stem cells but under 50s can do the bone marrow? I am confused.

And where are the weight restrictions section (want to check if I am too fat). I am over 30 so think my only option is to go to blood service - but please can someone confirm?

Bumping - one of my friends too, and as I am too old this is all I can do.

I can't as I had a blood transfusion. I hate that I can't give back but I can bump for you.