STUDENTS from Stirling Marrow are celebrating the end of the academic year, having recruited a remarkable 18 students to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register since September.

The University of Stirling is one of over 55 universities with ‘Marrow’ society, the name given to blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan’s network of student volunteer groups.

For some people, receiving stem cells from a stranger is their only chance at life, so the work done by Stirling Marrow and Anthony Nolan is invaluable.

Since 1997, Marrow groups have recruited over 100,000 potential donors and over 950 of these people have gone on to donate.

Typically, around 1 in 1200 people on the register go on to donate, so Marrow donors are up to 10 times more likely to save a life than average.

Young people are the most likely to be chosen to donate their stem cells as they are less likely to have long-term health problems which might delay or prevent donation.

Charlotte Cunliffe, marrow programme lead at Anthony Nolan, said: "It’s hard to put into words just how amazing our Marrow volunteers are – they are responsible for saving the lives of countless people, and they are truly the unsung heroes helping to cure blood cancer and blood disorders.

"We owe a massive thanks to all of the wonderful student volunteers from The University of Stirling who tirelessly campaign, fundraise, and spread the word about how easy and important it is for people to sign up to potentially donate their stem cells to those in desperate need."

To find out more visit anthonynolan.org/marrow, follow them on Twitter @Marrow or ‘like’ them at facebook.com/ukmarrow/