A LEUKAEMIA sufferer organised for a charity to visit the Cradley Heath school where he works to show students how they can become lifesavers.

Kris Griffin has been battling Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) for the last five years and is winning the fight having been declared in remission from the disease.

The 37-year-old father of one arranged for The Anthony Nolan Trust to stage a presentation for more than 100 sixth form pupils at Ormiston Forge Academy, where he has recently become Director of Marketing, Communications and Operations.

The Trust uses its register to match volunteers willing to donate stem cells or bone marrow to people in desperate need of a lifesaving transplant.

Kris, of Kidderminster, already knows he has a match on the register should he ever need a transplant, but others are not so lucky.

He said: “By arming students with the facts and dispelling myths we can empower them to make an informed choice about whether to register as donors.

“I’m a very lucky guy at the moment I’m fit and healthy but we must do all we can for people who aren’t as fortunate as I am."

The presentation gave pupils the facts about why donors are needed and what is involved in the donation processes.

It was part of the trust’s Register and Be A life Saver, the legacy of Adrian Sudbury, a young journalist who lost his life to leukaemia.

Dr Lisa Mason, Director of Sixth Form at Ormiston Forge Academy, said, "It was emotional, hard-hitting but ultimately life-affirming as our students discover their true potential.

"As many of them handed completed forms in at the end to give Anthony Nolan permission to contact them about becoming a donor I couldn't have been prouder."

Kris, who is treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, also works as an advocate and parliamentary lobbyist fighting for other cancer victims to have access to the drugs they need.

People can go on the Anthony Nolan donor list from age 16. For details visit www.anthonynolan.org