Sheffield MP calls for more young people to donate stem cells to help tackle cancer
Clive Betts has been speaking out - as the government unveils a 10 year plan to tackle cancer
An urgent call for more young people to donate stem cells so their peers can have "a life to look forward to" has been made in the Commons.
Labour MP Clive Betts raised concerns over the level of stem cells currently being donated as he urged the Government to go further with its national cancer plan.
The new 10-year plan for England aims to use blood, urine and saliva tests - such as those able to pick up signals of more than 50 cancers before symptoms appear - to "transform and modernise" diagnosis.
In the Commons, Mr Betts, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Stem Cell Transplantation and Advanced Cellular Therapies, pressed the Government "to go a bit further in terms of cancer for young people".
The Sheffield South East MP said: "When I had my stem cell transplant, for myeloma, my own stem cells were used and harvested. But for many young people with complicated blood disorders, they need stem cells to be donated.
"Will she work with the Anthony Nolan trust, I'm chair of the APPG, to ensure that more young people donate their stem cells so other young people can have a life to look forward to?"
During a statement on the new plan, health minister Ashley Dalton said: "The minister for innovation is already looking at the issues he raises around blood products and donations, and is working with the Anthony Nolan trust on these and I'll be more than happy to work with him further on those issues."
Most people who donate stem cells do so through a process called peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection, which filters them out from the bloodstream.
This requires a course of injections over a few days followed by a hospital visit, which usually takes around four to five hours, according to Anthony Nolan.
The remaining 10% of donors do so through their bone marrow, with it collected from the hip bone.
Donors are placed under a general anaesthetic for this and typically stay in hospital for two nights.