Bone marrow appeal

A DESPERATE plea for bone-marrow has been made by the Karaiskakeio Foundation.

In an appeal to the media and public yesterday, the charity said there were 12 patients between the ages of two and 50 who urgently needed bone-marrow transplants.

The foundation has tested 2,000 volunteers since its establishment and some successful matches have been found, but the number of patients on the waiting list continues to grow.

Anyone interested in registering as a donor need only give a blood sample at their local hospital. In the event that a match is found some bone marrow will be removed. The donor’s body will replace the marrow within 24 hours and without any side-effects. The transplant, however, will probably save the recipient’s life.

The only requirements are general good health and for the donor to be between 18 and 45 years old.

For more information, call the Karaiskakeio Foundation at 02-772700 from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 4 pm.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.