Louise and Amith Paramel prepare for the fundraising event for Delete Blood Cancer UK and Blue Skies Hospitals Fund
A doctor and nurse are organising a fundraising event to support Blackpool’s Children’s Ward and to save the lives of children and adults with blood cancer.
Louise and Amith Paramel are holding a cake sale, raffle and face painting and balloon modelling stand near the main entrance to raise money for Blue Skies Hospitals Fund and DKMS – Delete Blood Cancer.
They will also be encouraging visitors and staff to sign up to blood stem cell donor register through DKMS – Delete Blood Cancer by completing a registration form and having a cheek swab to help detect matches.
Louise’s passion for helping those in need of a transplant comes from her former employment as a nurse on the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
She said: “I would give children their transfusion on the ward as a nurse. I still keep in touch with the other nurses there and after I left I decided I wanted to do more to help the children.
“Amith and I got in touch with DKMS – Delete Blood Cancer, and we decided we would hold a fundraising event in support of these charities.”
All proceeds made from the couple’s event, which takes place on Wednesday 13th July between 11am and 2pm, will be split down the middle for the two charities. All money for Blue Skies Hospitals Fund will go towards the Children’s Ward.
Louise added: “We’ve got some really good raffle prizes, and if this goes well, I think this is something which we will repeat in the future.”
Anyone who chooses to register as a potential stem cell donor will be assisted by Louise, a Practice Development Sister for the hospital’s Children’s Ward and Amith, who works as a Consultant Child Psychiatrist based at Whitegate Drive.
Their swabs and details will be added to the register, and if a match is found they will be contacted to discuss the process.
Participants must be aged between 17 and 55 and in good health.
Louise said: “It’s really hard to find a Bone Marrow match, so as well as raising money this really could help save lives.
“Everyone has been so generous with donating cakes and raffle prizes so far; we’ve been overwhelmed by the local businesses who have supported us.
“We’re going to be in the main entrance at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, and everyone is welcome to come along and support us.”
Anyone wishing to bake cakes, donate prizes and purchase raffle tickets can call Louise on 01253 956900 or email louise.paramel@bfwhospitals.nhs.uk. Prizes include an overnight stay at the Village Hotel Club Blackpool, meal and photography vouchers, a free boiler service and beauty treatments.
For further information about this Press Release, please call Rebecca Ferguson, Deputy Head of Fundraising, on 01253 957903 or email rebecca.ferguson@bfwh.nhs.uk.
About DKMS: DKMS is an international not for profit organization, dedicated to the fight against blood cancer with activities of: creating awareness of blood disorders, recruiting stem cell donors and providing second chances at life, raising funds to match registration costs, improving blood cancer therapies by our own research and supporting patients from day one of their diagnoses. You can register in five minutes online and request a cheek swab kit that will enable you to do your own tissue test to go on the database to maybe one day become a blood stem cell donor through the DKMS website: www.dkms.org.uk