Christmas mercy dash by Suffolk charity worker

Glenn Abbassi has given up her Christmas break to travel on a 10,000 round-trip to collect stem cells for a bone marrow patient. Credit: ITV Anglia

Glenn Abbassi has given up her Christmas break to travel on a 10,000 round-trip to collect stem cells for a bone marrow patient.

As president of Hadleigh Rotary Club, it's been a busy time for Glenn and her colleagues. They're raising money in the town, but her next collection will be a lot further away in Beijing, China.

She will be collecting stem cells in a cool box for a patient is desperate need of a bone marrow transplant in the UK.

Glenn has been involved in the Anthony Nolan charity for seven years. Credit: ITV News Anglia

Glenn's been a volunteer for blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan for seven years and a charity that's very close to her heart.

She said: "The reason I started doing this was because my first husband died of plastic anaemia in 1980 and I met my present husband who came from Iran to be the donor for his brother's bone marrow transplant in 1986 at which time the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register was in its infancy."

Click the video above to watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Lauren Hall

This is the 227th time Glenn has acted as a courier collecting life saving stem cells but at 70 she says she may give up her courier duties next year.