This campaign has now closed
ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust) is dedicated to diversifying donor registers and providing hope to patients living with blood cancer and illnesses where a matched donor is required to save a life. Our work is driven by a belief that no one should die waiting for a donor to become available.
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Beneficiaries
Situation
In the UK, there is a disparity of available donor matches to people of Black, Asian and Mixed Ethnic Heritage. To get the best treatment, people living with cancer and blood related illnesses need to receive donations (stem cell, blood and organ) that are closely matched to their own and likely to be someone of the same ethnicity. However, there are currently only 2% of blood donors and 1% of stem cell donors of Black heritage, yet 37% of stem cell recipients are from minority backgrounds.
Solution
Many young people of diverse heritage cite religious, cultural and social factors as key factors that affect the access to information or can prevent them from joining donor registers. ACLT aims to educate, inform and motivate potential donors by creating bespoke culturally sensitive materials and delivering awareness events in collaboration with community leaders, thereby working to challenge prevalent myths and encourage more people to sign up as blood, stem cell and organ donors.