Thousands sign up to donate bone marrow as stars back campaign for woman battling leukaemia
A campaign to find a bone marrow match for a London woman diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer has led to a huge increase in donors after attracting support from A-list names including J. K. Rowling, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Fry and Mario Testino.
Lara Casalotti, 24, who is of Thai and Italian heritage, was diagnosed with acute Myeloid Leukaemia in December and is dependent on finding an unrelated donor.
Doctors have told the University College London masters student that she needs a bone marrow transplant by April, sparking the campaign match4lara.
The campaign, which her family and friends began 10 days ago, has gone viral and the Anthony Nolan charity said it has had to upgrade its website after a five-fold increase in the number of people applying to sign up to donate bone marrow.
Ms Casalotti told The Telegraph: "Getting messages from people I don’t even know with their well wishes, or sharing their experiences, or telling me they have gone to register - there was a man in Thailand who travelled for eight hours to register - that is the kind of thing that really restores your faith in humanity."
The student who volunteers for the Dost centre for young refugees, the Red Cross and Human Rights Watch added: "The point is to help diversify the donor registry so that every one can have an equal opportunity of finding a donor match.
"And also to raise awareness in general about how easy it us to sing up to the register."
A spokesman for the Anthony Nolan charity said it was "one of the biggest global campaigns we have ever seen".