Deeside MP hosts celebrity-backed event to encourage more people to sign the UK stem cell register

Mark Tami MP, is urging Deeside constituents to back a campaign to boost the number of stem cell and bone marrow donors. Mr Tami made the plea after hosting a Team Margot celebrity-backed event at the Houses of Parliament.

Team Margot is a charity created in memory of Margot Martini, an inspirational toddler with a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia, who sparked a worldwide campaign to find more stem cell donors.

Margot, from London, tragically lost her battle with blood cancer in 2014 and passed away aged just 2 years and 2 months old. But now her family is campaigning in her name to encourage more people to sign up to the UK stem cell register.

The reception, held in Parliament on May 18th, attracted around 150 people, including Olympic sports champion Daley Thompson, Former Crimewatch host Nick Ross and actor Alistair Petrie, who has appeared in the BBC drama The Night Manager and Star Wars: Rogue One. Public Health Minister Jane Ellison MP also made a short speech.

Mark Tami MP said: “I have worked very closely with Team Margot in the months leading up to this event and I was very humbled when asked to host the reception. This is a campaign that is very close to my heart, and one that I wholeheartedly support. We urgently need to boost the number of donors on the UK stem cell and bone marrow register and I urge as many of my constituents in Alyn and Deeside to sign up to the register.”

Blood Cancer is one of the top 10 most common causes of cancer death in the UK and worldwide. For many patients, a stem cell or bone marrow transplant offers the greatest chance of survival. However on average, only half of those seeking a “perfect” matching donor will ever find one.

And if the patient – like Margot –  has a mixed ethnic background or is from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) community – then the odds fall to just 21%, as finding a suitable donor with a matching tissue type becomes even harder.

Team Margot hopes to have 2.2 million people signed up to the UK stem cell register before the next International Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Registration Day on October 7th. The 2.2 figure represents both a celebration of Margot’s life and an aspiration to double the current number of people on the UK stem cell register.