Bone Marrow Donors

Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 3:12 pm on 19 September 2018.

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Photo of John Griffiths John Griffiths Labour 3:12, 19 September 2018

Thanks for that, Cabinet Secretary. Marley Nicholls is a six-year-old boy in Newport East. He has a rare blood condition, aplastic anaemia, where his bone marrow and stem cells do not produce enough blood cells. He needs a bone marrow transplant, but nobody in his family is a match, and, indeed, nobody on the worldwide register is a suitable match either. So, they've launched a campaign to encourage as many people as possible to register as bone marrow donors and to have their bone marrow tested. Obviously, that hopefully will eventually benefit Marley, and, indeed, others waiting for a bone marrow transplant, but there are no guarantees at this stage. Cabinet Secretary, will you add your voice to their campaign to encourage as many people as possible to find out whether they might be a suitable match, and indeed to register as bone marrow donors? Are there any further steps Welsh Government might take in addition to what's already in place to encourage people to register?