Students are being urged to help save a life and sign up to the national stem cell register next week as part of a new campaign called Leicestershire UNItes.
Students are being urged to help save a life and sign up to the national stem cell register next week.
De Montfort University (DMU) is joining forces with the University of Leicester (UoL) and Loughborough University for a new campaign called Leicestershire UNItes.
We are working with the Rik Basra Leukaemia Campaign to set a new record for the number of people on the register which gives patients with blood cancer the chance to beat the disease.
By joining the register, you could be a potential match for someone with blood cancer.
The Leicestershire UNItes campaign kicks off on Tuesday 30 January at De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU).
Students, staff and members of the local community aged between 16 and 30 are being urged to come to the Campus Centre at DMU between 9am and 5pm to join up.
Joining the register could not be easier – all it takes is a simple cheek swab and a few details. Specially-trained volunteers will be on hand to guide people through the process which takes less than 10 minutes.
Joining the register could not be easier – all it takes is a simple cheek swab and a few details.
Ahtesham Mahmood, President of DSU, said: “As a Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science graduate myself, stem cell research is a cause close to my heart, and being one of the team leaders last time we broke the record for donors, I can’t wait to continue that great work at DMU.
“This isn’t just a student engagement initiative, this is about welcoming the community to DMU and saving lives.”
Professor Dominic Shellard, Vice-Chancellor of DMU, explained: “DMU has made a significant contribution to this campaign over the past four years, working with the local community and the student body to encourage people to join the stem cell register in large numbers.
“This in turn has helped raise awareness of blood cancer and how it can be fought.
“We are very proud that some of our staff and students have been matches for people fighting leukaemia.
“By working together with universities across Leicestershire, we can encourage even more people to sign-up to the register and offer hope to people with blood cancer.”
Former Leicester City and England striker Emile Heskey threw his weight behind The Rik Basra Leukaemia Campaign last time it visited DMU in 2015.
Student groups at DSU are also being offered an incentive to sign the most people up to the register during the campaign.
We’re looking for the student group who can get as many members and friends enrolled on the register during the event, and we’ll be giving both the sports club and society who gets the most £250 each!
Your members and their friends simply need to pick up a Student Group Challenge Card from the DSU Reception before they enrol on the register, get the trained volunteer to sign it, and return the card to our reception. The group with the most cards wins the cash!
Each person can only state one group on their Student Group Challenge card. Verification of enrolment is required from the specially-trained volunteers in the form of a signature on the card.
Rik Basra (right) was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) in 2009, before setting up his eponymous campaign with wife Kas.
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