THE DYING wish of Sheffield journalist and leukaemia patient Adrian Sudbury is to be fulfilled after the Government agreed to give £165,000 to a project to educate all 16 to 18-year-olds about bone marrow, organ and blood donation.
Adrian, of High Green, died aged 27 in August 2008 after fighting against two forms of leukaemia, which he detailed in an online diary.
A journalist with the Huddersfield Examiner, he used his final months to press the Government to educate all si
xth formers about how bone marrow, organ and blood donation can save lives. It led to the Register and Be A Lifesaver Project, set up by The Anthony Nolan Trust, NHS Blood & Transplant and the Sudbury family, which has run as a six-month pilot in South Yorkshire and Bristol.
Now thanks to £165,000 announced by Secretary of State for Schools Ed Balls, a two-year programme is to be rolled out nationwide.
Mr Balls, who attended a presentation to students at Barnsley College in October given by Adrian's father Keith, described the project as outstanding. "The evaluation results of the pilot are extremely positive. What they show is that the volunteer training is working, the presentations are very powerful and the message is getting out to thousands of students and as a result young people are signing up to the register.
"We were really impressed by the statistics but we also remember what Adrian said in his final days before he died, which was that he wanted his legacy and campaign to continue so young people have chance to have their lives saved."
Keith Sudbury said: "It was Adrian's dream to see education programmes for all 17 to 18 year olds. He would be really proud of what we have already achieved with this project and thrilled by today's news."
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