England rugby hero, Lawrence Dallaglio, and leukaemia patient Sian Willbourne, have launched easyJet’s new Charity of the Year 2006. The Anthony Nolan Trust was voted as ‘easyJet Charity of the Year’ after easyJet
employees throughout Europe were inspired by the charity’s life saving work. 

The Anthony Nolan Trust takes back lives from leukaemia by providing bone marrow
donors to adults and children in need of transplants. Each year, Anthony Nolan saves
the lives of over 500 men, women and children who might have otherwise died.

 

Funds raised by easyJet, Europe’s leading low-fares airline, will specifically be
spent on recruiting 5,000 donors. Any one of these donors could save someone like
Sian, 29 from St Albans, who was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia last year:

      “My only hope of survival is to have a transplant. Although some people are lucky
enough to find a donor in their family, this has not been so in my case.  As a
result, I am now one of 7,000 people worldwide currently seeking an unrelated
donor”, said Sian. 

In order to save everyone that needs them, Anthony Nolan urgently needs to increase
the number of people on its register. Throughout 2006, easyJet employees and
customers will be encouraged to follow the example set by people, including Lawrence
Dallaglio, and personally join Anthony Nolan’s register.

      “When the charity held a clinic at London Wasps I could not think of a good reason
not to join their bone marrow register.  The more people Anthony Nolan register,
the more lives are saved”, said Lawrence Dallaglio
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