Alesha Dixon, Trevor Nelson, Mark Bright and Marsha Thomason (pictured above) are part of a group of celebrities who have joined together to encourage more people to sign up for the stem cell register and potentially save somebody’s life.
The social media campaign entitled #GobForGood is calling for more people, especially those from diverse backgrounds, to join the stem cell register. The #GobForGood campaign is headed up by Peter McCleave a Myeloma patient who started campaigning in 2018 to achieve registering 10,000 individuals to the UK Stem Cell Register. Over the last two years he has surpassed this goal of registering potential life savers and has registered over 45,000 and found 13 lifesaving matches! Peter has now set himself a new goal of registering 100,000!
Find out how you can use your #GobForGood in the below video:
The face of the campaign in the North West is Manchester actress Marsha Thomason she said for her it was a “no-brainer” to get involved.
She told ITV Granada Reports, “Like so many people, I didn’t know anything about stem cell donation, blood cancer or any of it. I got the request, and before I responded, I did some research on the internet. I was kind of dumbfounded to learn how easy it is and how significant it can be and so to me, it was a no-brainer, actually.
“That was one of the big reasons I wanted to get involved, just to raise awareness . Very simply, you can swab the inside of your mouth, get put on the registry, and you might have a genetic twin.
“I’m really honoured to be part of it and the Northwest is where I’m from. It’s very important to me. It’s important to Pete. And I’m thrilled to be able to. I just really hope people pay attention and register.
Singer and TV presenter Alesha Dixon has also lent her support to the campaign.
“Reading about Pete’s journey, the diagnosis, his family, and the bid to get as many people as possible to sign up to the donor register (as I did), the campaign has my backing. I hope through my involvement in some way we can encourage greater numbers of stem cell donor sign-ups and ultimately that Pete is able to find his matching stem cell donor. Come on people, we can do this!”
The #Gobforgood campaign is working closely with ACLT, DKMS and Newcastle University to raise awareness and get more people on the stem cell register.
To join the register please CLICK HERE to read about the process and to get signed up.