Salisbury is falling short of blood stem cell donors, according to new figures released by a blood cancer charity.

Despite new figures showing that 1,657 people in Salisbury have registered as blood stem cell donors with blood cancer charity DKMS, the region is still falling short of potential lifesavers.

With someone diagnosed with a blood cancer every 20 minutes in the UK, the charity DKMS is urging more people in the area to sign-up ahead of Blood Cancer Awareness Month next month.

Blood cancers are the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK.

Lisa Nugent, the head of donor recruitment at DKMS, said: “For a few minutes of your time now to sign up, you could save someone’s life in the future. If you’re living in Salisbury and between 17 and 55 and in general good health, there’s no excuse not to, as it could make all the difference to someone in need of a donation.”

The charity says while for most people there is no single cure, a blood stem cell donation from a genetically similar person can offer the best treatment and could help give someone in need of a transplant a second chance at life.

DKMS has a growing register of nearly 400,000 donors but they desperately need more if a match is to be found for everyone who needs one. Only one in three people with a blood cancer (and in need of a transplant) will find a matching blood stem cell donor within their own family – 2 in 3 need to look outside of this.

One man desperately in need of a blood stem cell transplant is 32-year-old father of two young children, Vaughn Scott.

Until recently Vaughn was incredibly fit and active playing all kinds of sports and being part of the Navy. It was whilst on deployment across the world that he was urgently flown back to the UK where he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). This type of cancer is incredibly rare and attacks white blood cells, aggressively affecting the body and requiring immediate treatment.

Vaughn said: “My diagnosis was crushing, the first thing I thought of was my family. My children don’t deserve to grow up without a father. My partner has been amazingly supportive and she helps to keep me positive. There’s a lot of uncertainty as at the moment my life depends on the goodness and bravery of a complete stranger. I’m calling out on the people of the South West to please register with DKMS, you could be my only hope and anyone else’s in need of a matching donor.”

While more donors of all genders and ages are needed, there are particular groups which are significantly underrepresented on DKMS’ register.

One of these groups is men – who are almost 70 per cent less likely to register as a blood stem cell donor than women in the region. This is despite male donors being the most frequently requested by transplant physicians for blood stem cell transplant.

The second group lacking in presence on the register is young people. Currently those who are 31 and over (1,347) are over four times as likely to register as a donor compared to those 30 and younger (310). Anyone aged 17-55 and in general good health can register as a potential donor.

To register or for more information go to dkms.org.uk