Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and support my Run4Jacob.  Jacob is my baby nephew.  Last year, the little chap was diagnosed with Wiskott-Aldridge Syndrome - a rare form of blood cancer which emulates leukemia.  Jacob's only realistic chance is to receive a Bone Marrow Donation.  My run will celebrate Jacob, who is the most beautiful boy imaginable, and help to raise funds towards expanding the capabilities of, and awareness for, the Anthony Nolan Trust.

Whilst I have been training for the London Marathon, Jacob has undergone chemotherapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital in preparation to receive donated marrow.  Quite simply, this would not have been possible without the Anthony Nolan Trust's continuing ability to match life-giving donors to life-threatened patients through the management of the UK's register of bone marrow donors.  In fact, Jacob's rare 100% matching marrow has come from New Zealand, which demonstrates the power of the register's reach and effectiveness.  

Jacob's donated bone marrow is beginning to produce the new cells that can save his life.  However, these cells are also attacking Jacobs own body cells.  At the moment, Jacob is fighting hard and we can only hope that he can come through.  For us this is a positive situation, but a worrying reality.  For others, with a need for a bone marrow transplant, a recovery is still a dream. 

It costs £125 to process each doner's entry on the register.  My target is to raise £5000, which will fund the processing of a further 40 donors who can help save the lives of babies like Jacob - as well as other children and adults.

Sponsoring through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you give, they will send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Please also look at the Anthony Nolan Trust Website at the link opposite.  The process of assessing your suitability and actually donating your bone marrow now uses stem cell technology. This has changed the donation process dramatically over the last few years making it not as painful or invasive as you may have heard.   

Raising money for the Anthony Nolan Trust, going on the register and finding donated bone marrow through the register has given us such hope for Jacob's future.  You could do the same for thousands of adults and kids in the UK and across the world.   Please be generous.

Cheers

Uncle Nick