Hospitality industry urged to 'Register. Swab. Save a Life'

By Emma Eversham

- Last updated on GMT

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Yaser Martini is hoping to find a stem cell donor match for his 16 month old daughter Margot who has a rare form of Leukaemia
Yaser Martini is hoping to find a stem cell donor match for his 16 month old daughter Margot who has a rare form of Leukaemia
Members of the hospitality industry are being urged to register their interest in stem cell donation to help save the life of a 16 month old girl with a rare form of Leukaemia. 

Margot Martini, the daughter of Yaser Martini, a non-executive director at Beds & Bars and Cirrus Inns, is in desperate need of a stem cell donor with a similar tissue type to hers. 

Martini, who is also a director of PubAid, has been appealing to members of the licensed trade to register their interest in blood stem sell donation with Delete Blood Cancer UK through a campaign with BigHospitality's sister titles the Publican's Morning Advertiser and M&C Report. 

Over Christmas and New Year another 12,000 people registered, but Martini is hoping for more support to help find a match and save his daughter's life. 

He said: "We are truly inspired by the number of people who have recognised both how easy, and how important, it is to sign up to support people like our baby daughter Margot. I have been humbled by the response to the campaign – highlighting the fact that the leisure industry is as much a family as an industry.

"I feel privileged that our story has touched so many people who have either helped to broadcast the message or become donors. It is like oxygen to us that there has been this initial impact, but we are still seeking a perfect match and urgently welcome ongoing support”.

Register. Swab. Save a Life

Potential donors should be aged between 17 and 55 and in general good health. They should visit www.deletebloodcancer.org.uk ​where there is a five minute registration process. A DIY swab kit will then be sent out to find out if they are a potential match.  When asked 'how did you hear about us', select 'Team Margot' from the drop-down box to enable registrations to be tracked.

Donor Registration days will also be held on 2 February between 10am and 4pm at Sheen Montessori nursery, London SW14 8RE and Wolverhampton on 23 February between 10am and 4pm at The Mount Hotel, WV6 8HL. 

James Cuthbertson, principal of Instinctive PR, a business Yaser is a partner in, added: “The donor appeal campaign is an ‘absolute good’ in that there's potentially ‘something for everyone’. Of course, the Martini family wish is that amongst the new registrants, there might be someone who provides a perfect match for Margot, but time is fast running out - they only have a few weeks before a donor transplant is required.”

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