The Press and Journal is mounting a year-long campaign for the Anthony Nolan Trust and, just three months in, readers have already raised more than £100,000 for the charity.

The Aberdeen-based newspaper is urging readers to consider becoming bone marrow donors and to raise money for more life-saving transplants for patients with leukaemia and other blood disorders.

Later this month staff at the newspaper’s Lang Stracht headquarters in Aberdeen will be rolling up their sleeves to give blood samples and join the Anthony Nolan Trust’s register of potential bone marrow donors.

Since the P&J appeal began, First Minister Jack McConnell has promised to consider how the Scottish Executive can provide more support to the work of the Trust, and regional airline Eastern Airways has adopted the Trust as its first-ever nominated charity

Press and Journal editor, Derek Tucker, said he was delighted at the momentum the appeal had gained.

He said: “Our readers have shown, yet again, how generous they are. It is an amazing amount in a short space of time.

“They have dug deep into their pockets in the past to raise £5m for our Archie campaign and £750,000 for the Saving Sight campaign and now they are doing the same again.”

The Press and Journal decided to join forces with the Anthony Nolan Trust for the current appeal after throwing its weight behind the Millie campaign in 2003.

Friends and family of young Aberdeenshire woman, Millie Forbes, launched a nationwide search for a bone marrow donor after she told her story of her battle with leukaemia to the Press and Journal.

As a result of the publicity, which included a rallying call to donors from the Forbes family’s neighbour Billy Connolly, more than 3,000 people volunteered to join the Anthony Nolan Trust’s bone marrow register in the hope of providing a match for Millie. She received a transplant in December 2003 but sadly her leukaemia had taken too great a toll on her health and she died in July 2004.

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