GMB: Al Murray asks viewers to make stem cell donation
It is supporting Al’s seven-year-old nephew Finley, who has a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia. Al, best known for his Pub Landlord stage routine, joined forces with DKMS a year ago to help register thousands more stem cell donors and find a life-saving match for Finley. The little boy has had three stem cell transplants as part of his treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
His family are waiting to see whether the latest has put his cancer in remission.
Al said: “He’s incredibly tough and just keeps on trucking and has been amazing throughout it.”
The comic has only been able to visit Finley a couple of times this year, as his weakened immune system means he is very vulnerable to Covid-19.
The gig comes after Al spent many hours of lockdown writing music with Willow May. The gig will feature their original songs, each telling a story.
Al said of his daughter: “She really is a brilliant musician and over lockdown we wrote a load of music together because I play the drums and write a bit.
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“We just thought that it would be lovely to do something for Fin. When someone in your family suffers with an illness like this, you feel powerless. You say to yourself, ‘I wish I could do the chemo so he didn’t have to,’ and all that sort of stuff.
“So we want to do something and we think a show for Fin and DKMS would be a nice thing.”
Al has joined the stem cell register and encourages others to do the same. “We’ve been through a year where we’ve all been asked to help each other.
“There’s nothing that will happen to you if you donate because your body will generate more stem cells immediately.
“It’s like buying a lottery ticket but someone else wins. There’s a one in a million chance that you match with someone, but if there are 10 million people on the list then that increases the chances.”
• Ai and Willow May’s concert will be streamed on DKMS’s YouTube and Facebook channels at 7pm tonight.
To donate, visit gofundme.com/WillowandAl
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