Bright Red - Ashley Elliott

Today we were treated to an uplifting talk from Ashley Elliott of the charity “Bright Red” and their wonderful work in the fight against blood cancers. This charity is  based here in the north east, covering an area from North Yorkshire to the border. Their vision is to make the region the safest place to be treated for blood cancer. It covers a wide range of support including patient care, research and practitioner training, with special emphasis on leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. They work with and support the research departments at the University of Newcastle and the Centre for Life, but any haematological unit in the region will be helped as requested. “Bright Red” has recently donated £300,000 for a Cytometer machine for the research department of University of Newcastle. This device counts and sorts blood cells.
Ashley gave a brief overview of the composition of blood, its production and the part played by bone marrow. She described the role played by blood and its importance in our immune system.
The talk concluded with a short audience discussion on the blood transfusion service.

Thanks to Ed Kear for this report.

Check out the Bright Red website ...