The Communication Workers Union (CWU) and African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) have arranged a screening session for prospective donors. Anyone can go along to the Novotel Hotel in Victoria Street, Bristol, between 10.30am and 3.30pm. Registration involves giving a small blood sample and taking some personal details - it all takes about 10 minutes.
 | | Registering takes about 10 minutes |
The difficulty in finding suitable donors among black and Asian people was highlighted recently in Bristol, when the plight of Bedminster girl Yvette Gate was featured on BBC news. Yvette, 13, is of African descent and needs a bone marrow transplant to treat aplastic anaemia. Despite a trip to Gambia in January, she has not been able to find a suitable match. - The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust says as few as three per cent of donors on its register are Asian and for some ethnic groups the number is lower.
- A patient in need of a transplant is more likely to find a suitable donor among people who share a similar genetic history to them, or are from their own ethnic community.
The CWU became involved in the drive to find bone marrow donors after one of its members was diagnosed with leukaemia and told he needed a transplant. It plans more events like this across the UK. | 
