Supporters who head to the Saints’ pre-season double header on August 20th could help save a life - just by spitting into a tube!
For someone with blood cancer or disorder, a stem cell transplant is often their only chance of life.
Two-year-old Northampton toddler Joey Ziadi was one such person. At six months old he was diagnosed with an incredibly rare blood disorder called Diamond Blackfan Anemia, one of only 800 people worldwide to have the condition.
Patients with the condition do not produce red blood cells properly, with long-term risks including a high chance of complete bone marrow failure. Blood transfusions provided a short-term fix, but Joey needed a stem cell transplant to provide a long-term cure.
Joey’s family has been working closely with the Anthony Nolan Trust over the past two years, and while their search for a matching stem cell donor proved successful in the last week of July there are always more people who need similar help, such as 25-year-old Leanne Tilbrook from Rushden.
Leanne is a teacher at Wrenn School who has a rare form of blood cancer known as Myelodysplastic syndrome and T-cell Leukaemia, and has undergone several courses of chemotherapy.
So the campaign to get as many people as possible signed up to the Trust’s database continues - which is where supporters come in.
All you have to do on August 20th is head to the Saints Study Centre between 12noon and 6:30pm, complete an application form and spit into a tube. It’s as simple as that, and all supporters have to do to join the database is be between the ages of 16 and 30 and in good health.
For more information about the work of the Anthony Nolan Trust head to www.anthonynolan.org and to find out more about Joey’s journey visit www.findjoeyamatch.com
Match tickets are on sale now at www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/buytickets
