African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust will be holding a recruitment drive following death of Kye Carpenter-Mark

A health charity is urging black, mixed race and Asian residents in Brent to join the bone marrow donors register by attending a special recruitment drive.

The ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust) will be hosting the event in conjunction with the Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, in memory of Kye Carpenter-Mark.

The three-year-old, of mixed-race heritage, needed a bone marrow transplant after he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia but sadly died in November last year.

ACLT aims to increase the number of ethnic minorities on the UK bone marrow, blood and organ donation registers as the chance of finding a match if you are black, mixed race or Asian is one in 125,000 where it is one in three if you are white.

Beverley De-Gale OBE co-founded the charity with her partner Orin Lewis OBE after her son Daniel was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of six in 1993.

Daniel eventually found a match but sadly died at the age of 21 from an unconnected illness.

Both Ms De-Gale and Mr Lewis have been recognised in the Queen’s Honours List for their relentless battle to get more ethic minority people on the register.

Ms De-Gale said: “We urge Black, mixed race and Asian individuals from Brent to register as a potential bone marrow donor in memory Kye.

“The loss of a child is always hard; a pain no parent should have to bear. By the community coming together we can help to save young lives like Kye’s.

“We appeal to everyone in north west London and surrounding areas to join us where we hope to potentially save lives, we welcome people to come with family and friends.”

The recruitment drive will take place at Southall College in Beaconsfield Rd, Southall, on February 28 between 11am - 3pm.