Weekend of bone marrow donor events for James

A HUGE campaign to help find a bone marrow donor to help six year old Nesting boy James Hawick comes to a head this weekend with a series of events in Lerwick, Cunningsburgh and Brae.

The family of James, who has the rare blood disorder aplastic anaemia, have been making a supreme effort to raise funds for the Anthony Nolan Trust, which registers bone marrow donors.

His uncle Craig Smaaskjaer has just climbed Ben Nevis seven times in seven days, and his JustGiving page has raised £12,000.

Smaaskjaer told Shetland News it had been a “long, hard slog” but he couldn’t wait to get back and see his nephew in Aberdeen, where he is currently receiving treatment.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “We’ve raised awareness and an incredible amount of money for Anthony Nolan, which is fantastic because when they come up to Shetland that’s helping what they’re doing in terms of registering people.”

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A whole series of fund raising events have been held in the isles, including a pop-up charity shop in the old LHD shop.

And around 600 folk in Shetland and Aberdeen, where Smaaskjaer lives, have signed up as donors.

More donors can sign up at three events this weekend at:

• Lerwick’s Clickimin Leisure Centre from 11am to 3pm on Saturday;
• Cunningsburgh Hall from 11am to 3pm on Sunday with soup and bannocks; and
• Brae Hall from noon to 4pm on Sunday with Sunday teas.
  

Donors must be aged between 16 and 30, be in good health, weigh over 7st 12lbs and have a BMI lower than 40.

A straightforward saliva test will be taken, so donors should not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum for at least half an hour before the test.

Two representatives from Antony Nolan will be in the isles over the weekend.

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Smaaskjaer said there had been a buzz on Twitter last week when various soap stars helped promote the cause, but what “means the most to me and my family” is that children in Shetland are asking their parents to make and sell home bakes to raise funds.

“It’s great having all that [national] interest, but it’s not what it’s about – it’s about the real community spirit coming together, and it’s phenomenal.”

In a photo at the climax of Sunday’s climb Smaaskjaer highlighted two other phenomenal charity fundraisers – the Bressay-Lerwick swim and Unst-Lerwick walk last weekend.

And he used the end of Friday’s seventh and final walk to urge people to sign a petition to the UK Government calling for everyone who gets a National Insurance card to also be given information about stem cells and bone marrow donation.

• You can find out more about the fundraising activities here: https://www.facebook.com/7in7forjames?fref=ts