Fans urged to become donors

An appeal for bone marrow donors involving the family of Joel Picker-Spence will be made at Aston Villa’s Premier League home game on Sunday.

Joel, of Farndon, died from leukaemia aged six in 2008.

His mother, Anne-Marie Spence, will, on behalf of the Anthony Nolan Trust, ask fans to register as donors.

Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov, 32, is being treated for acute leukaemia.

The club has invited The Anthony Nolan Trust to go to Villa Park for the game against Tottenham Hotspur to test fans, players and staff as potential donors.

Mrs Spence and nine local volunteers, will be asking fans to take a saliva test and be added to the donor register.

Mrs Spence, of The Meadows, Farndon, set up the Join For Joel campaign to encourage as many people as possible to sign up to the register. More than 5,000 have done so.

A bone marrow transplant would have saved Joel’s life. Although a match was found for him he was too ill to receive it.

Mrs Spence said the Villa initiative would raise awareness of The Anthony Nolan Trust.

“I really do hope that Stiliyan beats the leukaemia,” she said.

“He’s got thousands of people cheering him on to do that and if a lot of them sign up to the register it could make a huge difference to others.”

Mrs Spence said Joel, a keen football fan and an Advertiser Child of Courage, would have been very impressed by what Villa were doing.

Petrov, a Bulgarian international, was voted the club’s players’ player of the year this week. He did not attend the awards ceremony but sent a video message.

He said: “Sorry I can’t be with you but I’ve got a little issue I need to fight.”

Petrov’s condition was diagnosed after he developed a fever following a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal.

Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells. Symptoms include pale skin, tiredness, breathlessness and susceptibility to infection.

According to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, on average 2,500 adults a year are diagnosed with acute leukaemia in the UK.