The #SwabForYvette campaign has been launched to encourage more people of BAME – and specifically East Asian – descent to join the stem cell registry.
Research shows there is a one in three chance of finding a perfect genetic match on the stem cell register if you’re from a minority ethnic background.
Terence Lovell, chief engagement and marketing officer at Anthony Nolan, said: “We must change the odds, which is why we’re calling on young people from east Asian backgrounds aged 16-30 to join the Anthony Nolan register.
“To be told there is no stem cell donor for you, because of your ethnicity, will have been devastating to hear. Every single person who signs up to the register has the potential to give hope to someone who is in desperate need of a life-saving stem cell transplant. Together, we can work towards a future where ethnicity does not influence who survives blood cancer.”
Beverley Lin, centre director of the London Chinese Community Centre, said: “Our community must come together and Swab For Yvette, for our brothers, our sisters, our mothers and fathers.
“There are relatively few Chinese people on the blood donor register and it’s within our community’s grasp to fix this, right away, and save lives.”
Campaign organiser, Mr Chin, said: “Our family has registered but it’s not enough. I hope if more people from the community know how quick and easy it is to do, and that it’s literally life saving, we can find a match.
“Not just for Yvette, but also for others who don’t have time to wait. I’m asking for everyone to sign up and share #SwabForYvette on social media to spread awareness that we all have the power to save lives with a simple mouth swab.”
You can sign up for the Anthony Nolan register here, or the British Bone Marrow Registry here.