Kidderminster leukaemia sufferer inspiring pupils to be lifesavers (From Kidderminster Shuttle)
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Kidderminster leukaemia sufferer inspiring pupils to be lifesavers
7:20am Wednesday 20th March 2013 in News
‘Dispelling myths’: Kris Griffin with Heather Ross of the Anthony Nolan Trust and pupils Megan Isherwood and Dan Baggott.
A LEUKAEMIA sufferer from Kidderminster organised for a charity to visit the school where he works to show students how they can become lifesavers.
Kris Griffin has been battling Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) for the last five years and is winning the fight having been declared in remission from the disease.
The 37-year-old father of one arranged for the Anthony Nolan Trust to stage a presentation for more than 100 sixth form pupils at Ormiston Forge Academy, Cradley Heath, where he has recently become director of marketing, communications and operations.
The trust uses its register to match volunteers willing to donate stem cells or bone marrow to people in desperate need of a lifesaving transplant.
Mr Griffin already knows he has a match on the register should he ever need a transplant but others are not so lucky.
He said: “By arming students with the facts and dispelling myths we can empower them to make an informed choice about whether to register as donors.
“I’m a very lucky guy at the moment. I’m fit and healthy but we must do all we can for people who aren’t as fortunate as I am.”
The presentation gave pupils the facts about why donors were needed and what was involved in the donation processes.
It was part of the trust’s Register and Be A Lifesaver, the legacy of Adrian Sudbury, a young journalist who lost his life to leukaemia.
Dr Lisa Mason, director of sixth form at Ormiston Forge Academy, said: "It was emotional, hard-hitting but ultimately life affirming as our students discover their true potential."
Mr Griffin, who is treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, also works as an advocate and parliamentary lobbyist fighting for other cancer victims to have access to the drugs they need.
People can go on the Anthony Nolan donor list from age 16. For details visit anthonynolan.org
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