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MP praises 'brave' journalist's campaign

A regional journalist who died at the age of 27 after battling leukaemia has been praised in a debate in Parliament.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner reporter Adrian Sudbury died in August 2008 after a high-profile campaign for better education about bone marrow donation.

Now, his work has been praised by Wakefield MP Mary Creagh, who knew Adrian, in a Westminster Hall debate about human tissue.

She said: “I know that the work that the Anthony Nolan Trust has done in increasing the number of people on the bone marrow register is incredible.

“In Huddersfield and Wakefield – my constituency covered part of Huddersfield until the last boundary change – we had a very brave campaigning journalist at the Huddersfield Examiner who, when he was dying in his mid-20s, launched a huge campaign, including writing a blog about his experience.

“Through that campaign, he engaged with a lot of young people to get them on to the bone marrow register.”

Ms Creagh added children could be taught about blood and bone marrow donation from a young age, long before they were old enough to give.

Last year, the Government committed £165,000 to the campaign started by Adrian before his death, which will see trained volunteers going into colleges to explain the benefits of bone marrow donation.