Nottingham teenagers to make bone marrow history

People aged 16 and 17 can now sign up to be a bone marrow donor Credit: Anthony Nolan Trust

Teenagers in Nottinghamshire will today (1 October) make history as they become the youngest people ever to sign up to become bone marrow donors.

The Anthony Nolan Trust has changed the joining criteria, from 18-40 to 16-30. There are over 455,000 people on its' register but men and women under 30 account for just 23% of potential donors.

A special recruitment event is being held later this morning at the National Church of England Academy in Nottingham.

The first ever bone marrow register was started in the UK in 1974 to find a donor for the Trust's namesake, Anthony Nolan. The Trust says research shows young people make better donors and so the change in its' joining policy will help to save more lives.