MORE than 1,000 people flocked to the city for another event to help five-year-old Oscar who is in desperate need of a stem cell transplant.
Volunteers lined the High Street, in Worcester, on Saturday to raise awareness and appeal for a donor for Oscar Saxelby-Lee, who has T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Louise White, organiser of the donor registration event, whose son Ernie is friends with Oscar, said: “It’s been overwhelming - so many people turned up to register. We had a steady stream of people with lots of volunteers. Loads of people have been so kind reaching out.
“I am overwhelmed with the support from everybody and thank you so much to everybody for all that they are doing.
“We have a chance to save a little boy’s life and raise awareness. The idea is to find a match for Oscar, and we also want to raise money for the charity DKMS.”
A total of £400 was raised on the day with 1090 people registering.
It costs DKMS £40 to register an individual and do a swab test. The charity relies solely on fundraising and donations from the public.
Manj Kaur, volunteer from DKMS Midlands Hub said: “We organise these sorts of events regularly to support people with cancer.
“This event for Oscar has been huge. As he is from Worcester, the whole community and even people from outside the city have come together to do their swabs.
“Everyone wants to help save him. It’s amazing to see the community rallying and helping. The support received has been unreal.
“One in two people experience cancer - the statistics are shocking. In this day and age, we are effectively fighting for our lives, but right now we are fighting for Oscar’s life.
“Healthy individuals between 17 and 55 can register to be a donor, and they stay on the register until they are 61.”
Around 20 pupils from Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, in Worcester supported the event, in addition to 50 people who signed up as a volunteer.
Three rooms were in use at the Worcester Guildhall, with three checking desks on the go for people to hand in their registration forms.
There will be a further event to support Oscar at the University of Worcester on March 14, between 10am and 6pm.
There is also an option to request a kit online.
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