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Public Petitions Committee, 10 Dec 2003

10 Dec 2003 · S2 · Public Petitions Committee

Item of business

New Petitions

Bone Marrow Register (PE687)

Geva Blackett (Millie's Campaign): Watch on SPTV

Many of you will have heard about Millie's campaign through the media. Twenty-year-old Millie Forbes from Aberdeenshire was originally diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia 18 months ago. After six months of intensive chemotherapy in Aberdeen royal infirmary, she appeared to have overcome the disease.However, a routine blood test taken this summer revealed that the leukaemia had recurred and Millie was told that a bone marrow or stem cells transplant offered her her only chance of survival. None of the 345,000 existing potential donors on the Anthony Nolan Trust register was a match, so a global search and an anxious race against time to find a donor began.Millie's campaign started in August 2003 in order to help to save the lives of people similar to Millie and thousands of other leukaemia sufferers who are waiting for a transplant—people like you and me. It aims to raise public awareness of the fine work of the Anthony Nolan Trust and other bone marrow and stem cell registers, and to encourage more people to join the stem cell register. It also aims to raise funds to help pay the costs of their vital and life-saving work, which receives no Government or lottery funding but depends on public support.In the past four months, the nationwide response from the British public has been overwhelmingly generous. With help from various branches of the media and from several celebrities, including Billy Connolly, the campaign has become high profile. There have been more than 12,000 hits on the campaign website and messages have come in from Europe, America, Japan and Australia. More than 60 clinics were set up nationwide in response to the campaign, and thousands of new potential donors have been added to the register. Fundraising continues—funds raised have just passed the £100,000 mark—and all funds raised are donated to the Anthony Nolan Trust.On Saturday, it was announced that a donor match has at last been found for Millie. However, the bad news is that there are thousands of people in the United Kingdom, many living in Scotland, who do not have Millie's high profile but who suffer from the same horrible disease. For that reason, the campaign continues. Millie is not able to be here today, but she has asked me to present the petition to the Scottish Parliament on her behalf. She asks that you help, please, to save the lives of her fellow sufferers by asking the Scottish Executive to run a campaign to explain to the public how simple and vital is the giving of bone marrow and blood stem cells. That simple action will encourage potential donors to sign up to a bone marrow register and will save thousands of lives. We also ask Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to recognise and support organisations such as the Anthony Nolan Trust that are undertaking work in Scotland to recruit bone marrow donors.Convener, you will recognise that medical matters are not my forte. I ask, therefore, that all such questions be directed to Dr Stephen McEwan, the chief executive of the Anthony Nolan Trust. We are delighted that he has taken time out of his busy schedule to fly to Scotland to answer members' questions.I urge the Public Petitions Committee to refer the petition to the Health Committee for its urgent consideration.

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Public Petitions Committee, 10 Dec 2003

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