Although journalists work long and hard, not many are willing to give blood for the cause.

But a bunch of hacks from the News Shopper have done just that – in support of a campaign being run by the paper.

A month ago, the south east London paper was contacted by Joanne Wardrope, the mother of 19-year-old Leukaemia sufferer Alex.

She told News Shopper that her son would die if he did not have a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

After reading Alex’s heart-rending story, more than 100 News Shopper readers contacted the newsdesk, offering to help.

In response to this, the Antony Nolan Trust – the UK’s largest bone marrow register – set up a special clinic for people to get tested, in the hope of finding a match for Alex.

News Shopper journalists giving blood
with Alex’s mother Joanne (right)

Eleven Shopper journalists did their bit – by giving blood to test for a marrow match and signing up to the register.

News Shopper reporter Glenn Ebrey, who broke the story, said: “As soon as we heard about Alex’s plight we were determined to do something to help.

“I have sacrificed plenty of sweat and tears in this job, so giving blood was a piece of cake.”

Five days after the session, Alex received news that a bone marrow match has been found and he will be soon be going into hospital for surgery.

Although there is no chance the donor has come from News Shopper’s campaign, group editor Andrew Parkes says it has been well worth it.

He said: “There are very few occassions when newspapers can make such a difference to someone’s life. We wish Alex the very best ahead of his operation and hope he is soon on the road to recovery.

“We’ve all been put in the Anthony Nolan Trust register and you never know, some of us may get the chance to help others in the future.”