Liskeard swab rally for teen who needs bone marrow transplant

The swab rally is taking place on Saturday at Liskeard Town Hall between 09:30 and 16:00 GMT

The family of a teenager who has a rare blood disorder are hoping a pop-up testing facility will find a suitable donor.

Charlie Dugdale, 17, from Liskeard, Cornwall, has aplastic anaemia, where the bone marrow and stem cells do not produce enough blood cells.

As a result, he needs a bone marrow transplant.

The swab rally took place on Saturday, at Liskeard Town Hall, between 09:30 and 16:00 GMT.

Danielle Dugdale, Charlie's mother, said: "We don't have time to wait"

Danielle Dugdale, Charlie's mother, said before the event: "We're asking, encouraging and begging people to come along if they would like to help, and potentially help to save our son's life."

Charlie had just qualified as a chef in the Royal Navy and was about to start his submarine training when he was diagnosed with the condition.

Ms Dugdale told BBC Radio Cornwall their "life [was] turned upside down" after he was admitted to Derriford Hospital on 31 October.

"The only form of treatment that has been discussed is bone marrow transplant, so his brothers have been tested and we are waiting for their results but there is only a one in four chance.

"We don't have time to wait. Charlie wants to get better."

'Second chance of life'

She said: "A bone marrow swab is a swab of the cheek. A quick mouth swab. That gets sent off and it will tell you if that is a match and then you can go on to further investigations."

Henny Braund, who is from the Anthony Nolan Trust, said: "Charlie has mixed heritage, it's really important that we get people with ethnic minority background.

"If you come up with a match, you need to have three injections to stimulate your stem cells, then you would need to go into hospital for about four hours and give your stem cells, like giving blood.

Dani Thomas came along to the event to get tested

"It's a very simple process and after those four hours you're free to go, and in the process you're giving someone like Charlie a second chance of life."

Dani Thomas attended the swab rally and said: "The weather's horrible but it's great that people have still made an effort to come out today to get tested and try and do their bit to help.

"As a mum I would wish anybody would come and help me if it was my child," she added.