| AFRO CARIBEANS 20,000 TIMES LESS LIKELY TO GET BONE MARROW DONOR Notting Hill Carnival Limited have announced that the Official Charity of Carnival 2007 is the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) in order to encourage more black and mixed race people to register and donate bone marrow to help others to overcome leukaemia and all blood related cancers. Just 2.6% of the total registered donors on the UK Bone Marrow and Cord Blood registers are of African, Caribbean or Mixed Race descent. Sufferers from these backgrounds have a 1 in 100,000 chance of finding a compatible donor, for Caucasians the odds are closer to 1 in 5. Those with leukaemia need to find a compatible Bone Marrow match from members of the Black and Mixed Race community, between the ages of 18-40. Throughout the main Carnival weekend, 26th and 27th August, the ACLT are holding recruitment sessions at the Tabernacle Arts Centre, Powis Square, Kensington and Chelsea, London, W11. Revellers are therefore encouraged to register as potential donors before they start their Carnival partying. Sleek, one of the countries leading suppliers and manufacturers of hair extensions and wigs has launched the Flash of Hope campaign, a fundraising initiative to support the ACLT and to create awareness of the plight of black leukaemia sufferers within the community. At Carnival there will be a Flash of Hope bus and band on route promoting the campaign along the carnival parade. The ACLT is a voluntary charity, whose main aim is to increase the number of Black and Mixed Race people on the UK Bone Marrow Registers. Members of the ACLT work to raise awareness and encourage potential donors to come forward and be involved in the process of offering hope and a healthy future to someone whose disorder may otherwise prove fatal. The likelihood is that finding a matching donor is considerably greater in donors from the same ethnic background. The charity closely links to Carnival 2007's theme Set All Free. The aim of cancer charity the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), is to increase the number of black people on the UK register to at least 60,000. Orin Lewis, co-founder of ACLT said: "We are delighted that we have been chosen to be the official charity of Carnival 2007. We know that recruiting donorsat events such as Carnival really works. "For instance, we have living proof that black leukaemia sufferers have received transplants from donors whocame forward at previous events, including Carnival. "We therefore hope that revellers register first, then enjoy the Carnival party." |
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| For media seeking further information or wishing to arrange interviews over the Bank holiday weekend, please contact Gill Owen on 020 7641 3095 or email gowen@westminster.gov.uk
For further press information regarding the ACLT's Flash of Hope Campaign please contact Traci Walters on: 020 8 988 3581 or email traci.w@sleek.co.uk |
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