VOLUNTEERS are needed for another event to help find a donor for a five-year-old pupil with a rare form of cancer.

Thousands of people have been swabbed and registered at Pitmaston Primary School and the Guildhall to find a tissue match for Oscar Saxelby-Lee who has T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

A third event is being hosted at the University of Worcester today (March 14) from 10am to 6pm – on behalf of stem cell transplantation charity Anthony Nolan.

The previous events, on March 2,3 and 9, raised over £5,000 for DKMS, which tests the swabs for viability.

Masters student Wendy Porter, 48, a friend of Oscar’s mum Olivia Saxelby, 23, who also studies at the university, had the original idea for today’s event, which is being run by the student union.

“Myself and another student, Melissa Thomas, have been pushing this, we’ve handed out a thousand leaflets to get students to come down,” she said.

“Me and Melissa have been wanting to do something because we felt quite hopeless.

“Karen [Archer, of Anthony Nolan] sent me a message on Facebook and we had a conversation about 11 o’clock at night and we’ve pulled this together.

“Now, the student union have taken it on,” she added.

Mrs Archer, 54, said the organisation targets donors between the ages of 16 and 30 but said anyone older who attends will be given information on how they can register elsewhere.

"We work with universities and colleges across the UK,” she said. “Consultants will say, in general, the ideal candidate will be younger because they are more suited to going through with the donation.

“As we get older, we get more aches and pains, while younger people can take it better.

“We focus on targeted recruitment and bring in younger donors and we have a high success with that. We may not find the most, but we find the youngest, ideal candidates.

“We’ve had a massive response. The university has 10,000 students, we would like to get a few hundred threw the door, but you never know.”

From South Wales, Mrs Archer said she has recently been involved with three events in Plymouth, where Oscar’s aunty is from, which led to 400 registrations.

She said elsewhere in the UK a young boy whose family she has also been working with is also looking for a donor.

He is an example of one the many people across the UK, who could be saved if matching donors are found.

If you would like to volunteer, turn up on the day in the university's main reception, or call Mrs Archer on 07717 851 522

See: anthonynolan.org or dkms.org.uk/en/register-now.