RIP Dean Sheikh

We regret to inform that Dean Sheikh passed away on 22-10-09

This was an appeal for Dean Sheikh. Dean was 8 years old and suffered from two complicated conditions. Dyskeratosis Congenita is a Bone Marrow failure. This means that his bone marrow does not produce enough blood.
Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome affected his development and ability to walk and talk. The combination of these two illnesses means that there are only 38 other people in the world who share the same conditions as Dean.

This appeal is on behalf of all the families that are waiting for a loved one to have a Bone Marrow Transplant. Please please please please stop thinking about it. Please just go and find your nearest blood clinic or your nearest drive and register.

Please do not wait until it happens to someone that you know or care about. It isn't as difficult as you may think and please do not give excuses such as "I'm scared of needles" or "I can't take time off work". If you were in my shoes. What would you do? If this was your child, would you be making excuses? You could be saving a life. You could be making a difference. If we really did not need you, then trust me, we wouldn't go around campaigning and raising awareness. We need you to make a difference.
YOU could be the match for someone. Our aim is to get more, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Oriental, Afro-Caribbeans and Mixed Races on the register. Anyone and everyone from the Ethnic Minorities. We are lacking Blood and Bone Marrow Donations from you all.

We need more people to donate their blood. We need more people to donate their Cord Blood. We need more people registered on the Bone Marrow Register. Cord blood are stem cells (baby blood) from the Umbilcal cord and Placenta. When a baby is born, these two things are usually incinerated. Can you believe that something so vital is just thrown away and burnt? This cord blood can be used to save thousands of people. We need to get the Government to fund the collection and storage of cord blood for Bone Marrow Transplantation. Can you believe that only 6 hospitals in the UK have the facility and funds to do this???

Dean has a chance of 1 in 125,000 to find a match. There are only 3% of Asians on the Register. These things need to change and We can make a difference. Can you just think about what Dean goes through every time he is hospitalised for the common cold? Please do not wait until it happens to your family or friends. I had never imagined that something like this would ever happen to me.

It's time to stop being ignorant. It's time to stop being selfish. It's time to do one of the best things in life.
It is time for you to give the Gift for Life.

Please visit http://www.aclt.org/ and http://www.hayatbmt.org.uk