The next registration meeting is:

Sunday 28th May and Bank Holiday Monday 29th May, Afro Hair & Beauty Show - Alexandra Palace, North London, N22 7AY. Time: 10:00am till 7:00pm.


Whilst you're at the show why not stop off and give a sample, it could turn out to be the most rewarding moment of your entire life.

A memorial celebration in honour of LYNDEN DAVID HALL





LYNDENS WISH
INVITES YOU TO
A memorial celebration in honour of
LYNDEN DAVID HALL

Kensington Roof Gardens
Tuesday 23rd May
All proceeds to The African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust

In 2003 Lynden David Hall was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma disease; a rare form of cancer that mainly affects young people and after a long and brave battle against the disease, he died on February 14th 2006.

His spirit was never broken, and despite his debilitating illness, his wish was to help raise money for fellow sufferers, and to give back to those who offered their continuing support to him and his family.

His wife, Nikkie Hall writes;

“Lyndens Wish was set up by my husband and I when he was in hospital last year. We were told he would pass away at the beginning of last February, however he lived on for another year.

During our time living in hospital we decided to stay positive by using Lynden’s status to raise funds and awareness for charities close to our hearts, hence the LYNDENS WISH sell out concert at London’s Jazz Café last November.

An all star line up showed their support by coming out in force; Omar, Don-E, Beverley Knight, Miss Dynamite, Shola Ama, Andrew Roachford, Courtney Pine, Bev Tawiah and Rosita Lynch all performed to a packed audience in Lynden’s honour and to help raise money for the ACLT and RAYS of SUNSHINE, a children’s charity.

The event was a phenomenal success and sold out before going to press, raising the profile of both and a large donation for each.

On Lynden’s passing we held a very private funeral, after which many people expressed the wish to offer condolences. I have decided to use this opportunity to continue our support for the ACLT, by holding this memorial fundraiser on May 23rd at Kensington Roof Gardens in his honour“

This very personal evening will commence at 8pm with the release of two doves, accompanied by Lynden’s favourite steel pan band and will include a special performance of All You Need Is Love’ by The London Community Gospel Choir to celebrate his performance in the film Love Actually.
The full line-up is to be confirmed but will include live performances by Miss Dynamite, Bev Tawiah and some of Lynden’s fellow Brit School Students..

DJ’s on the night will include radio 1 Xtra’s Ronnie Herel, Mobo winning Manny Norte and others.

A book of condolences will be available for people to remember Lynden and those who wish to can contribute to a fund for a memorial bench to be placed at the cemetery.

OUTDOOR JERK BBQ , STEEL PAN BAND and SEXY CINDERELLA CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS!

The tickets will be sold through Ticket Web, priced at £25.00 and we anticipate a warm response from all.

This event shows not only testament to the respect, admiration and honour that is held for Lynden, but for the strength of feeling in raising the profile of Lynden’s chosen charities, namely the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT)

(The video is of Lynden playing a short set at the ACLT's Gift of Life 2 Fundrasier in 2001)

Jimaine Henry-Morris
A bone marrow transplant saved Jimaine Henry-Morris’s life





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after he was diagnosed with leukaemia. Now he wants to encourage more people from ethnic communities to enrol as potential bone marrow donors.

When Jimaine Henry-Morris saw an appeal for bone marrow donors, he never thought that he would be the one in need of a bone marrow transplant. But just days after watching the TV appeal for young Daniel De-Gale, Jimaine was diagnosed with leukaemia and a bone marrow transplant eventually became his only chance of survival. He says, "I didn’t know much about leukaemia except what I had seen on an appeal by the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) for more African Caribbean people to become bone marrow donors. I had considered going forward to register to help Daniel De-Gale at a registration clinic in Brixton in Nov 1998. But then a week before suddenly I was the one in hospital with exactly the same disease. "Jimaine, 22, from South East London, had been ill for some time. It was only when he went to hospital and had blood tests that he finally found out why. In April 1999, 21-year-old Jimaine was admitted to Kings’ College Hospital with leukaemia, but despite undertaking a regime of chemotherapy, he relapsed in February 2001. In the winter of 2000 Jimaine contacted the ACLT to ask for some assistance in order to enable him to wash his clothing. The charity responded positively and started up a relationship with the young South Londoner.

After speaking to his family and friends he decided to go public with his own appeal for a matching donor from the UK's Black community. Alongside the ACLT he made public appearances on local TV and in the Black press. The ACLT organised numerous clinics around his profile as Jimaine bravely publicly urged his community to come forward and register in order to help him and others in his position.

Major treatment

Jimaine underwent extensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and received numerous blood transfusions and up to two platelet transfusions a day. But he knew that the only way he would fully recover would be with a bone marrow transplant, to replace his own damaged bone marrow that could no longer produce healthy blood cells. Finding a match between a bone marrow recipient and potential donor is extremely difficult – there are so many different tissue types.

In 30 per cent of cases matches are found in family members, but Jimaine was unlucky.
He would have to rely on a match from an unrelated donor on one of the bone marrow registers worldwide, such as the Anthony Nolan Trust (ANT) or the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR). "I felt like I was waiting to win the lottery. The odds were stacked against me and my only chance of recovery was completely out of my control. Knowing I could die in this way was extremely difficult to deal with," says Jimaine. Currently patients have a one in 50,000 chance of finding a bone marrow match. Matches are more likely to be found between people from the same ethnic background. But as 97.5% of donors on the BBMR are from a white, Caucasian background, it is even harder to find a match if you are from another ethnic group.

Being positive

Jimaine wanted to do something positive. "With the help of the ACLT and my family, we went out on to the streets to talk to people. So many people had no idea what bone marrow donation means - a two hour procedure that might cause the donor some discomfort, but ultimately can mean they save somebody’s life." Therefore in light of the above and after many highs and lows in his struggle, it was appropriate that on the fateful day of September 11th 2001 Jimaine had his urgently needed Bone Marrow Transplant from an unknown donor through the Anthony Nolan Register. More than two years on, Jimaine is doing well, and pursuing a career in music. He is now slowly recovering and whilst it will be some while before he is given the all clear, Jimaine is finally heading in the right direction.

Now Jimaine gives up his spare time to helping the ACLT. He says " Although I am still recovering from my transplant, I would eventually like to take an active part in the ACLT as it is very close to my heart. Thank you for all of the help, and thank you for having the strength to raise awareness about this disorder".

"The ACLT gave me the confidence I needed to go out there and find a bone marrow donor. Seeing what they had achieved with Daniel gave me the hope that the same could happen to me.�

“I have learnt that what you give out you will get back, and by going out there and getting people to join the register for someone else, I managed to get a donor for myself.
The bone marrow transplant has given me another chance at life and I am very grateful for that. Now, I want to try and educate more people to join the register. I was lucky, but it shouldn’t be about luck," says Jimaine.

The National Blood Service (NBS) and the Anthony Nolan Trust (ANT) are working with the ACLT and other agencies to encourage more people from minority ethnic groups to donate blood and bone marrow. However, bone marrow donors are always needed from every type of ethnic background. The more potential donors who enrol, the greater the chances of helping patients like Jimaine. His successful search for a donor can hopefully inspire the Black community to come forward in larger numbers.

(Parts of the text is reprinted courtesy of The National Blood Service's "The Donor". Picture courtesy of Steve Lyne)

@Le Moore

Props to you for keeping this thread updated. Hope more people are encouraged to register.

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