Courageous father of three, Mark “Naffa” Jefferson, who grew up in Bridlington, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in August this year. After several rounds of harrowing chemotherapy, Mark, a support worker for a mental health charity, and his family were told that his only hope is a bone marrow transplant from a stranger.
Mark, 42, and his family are now urgently calling for Bridlington residents to come forward and help save lives by joining The Anthony Nolan Trust’s bone marrow register at a special clinic on Friday 23rd October, 11am – 4pm at Christ Church, Quay Road, Bridlington. The clinic is open to everyone aged 18 – 40.
Mark’s wife, Sue, said: “We first noticed something was wrong when Mark started getting marks on his legs – the doctor thought it was an infection and then gout, but then his lymph nodes blew up and he was sent for blood tests. I remember going to the hospital for the results and a whole team of doctors came to see us. I can’t even begin to describe how it felt when they told us he had acute myeloid leukaemia. It was like a bomb going off. They kept him in and started chemotherapy the next day.”
By September, Mark’s consultants had told the family that he would need a bone marrow transplant. Just 30% of patients will find a matching bone marrow donor from within their families, leaving the rest to rely on the generosity of strangers who have joined The Anthony Nolan Trust’s register.Because genetic make up is so varied, the chances of finding a matching donor can be slim.That’s why The Anthony Nolan Trust is desperately calling for more people to join its register – it could mean the difference between life and death.
Sue continued: “It’s all very scary. At first Mark was shell shocked but he’s one of the bravest men I know and he’s positive most of the time. We have our wobbly moments but we get through them. We know that there is a shortage of people on the register – to be honest before this happened to us I think I’d have been scared to join. But now I know, not only how easy it is to join but also how unbelievably important. I know our story will touch people’s hearts but I’m asking everyone to go one step further and put a note in the diary for our clinic – please come and please join.”
For further information about joining the register, please contact The Anthony Nolan Trust on 020 7284 1234 or log on to www.anthonynolan.org.uk.
