SIXTH-form students have signed up to become future life-savers and give hope to people suffering cancer.

Bolton School's Year 12 students have put their name to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register to become potential stem cell and bone marrow donors.

Last year 72 boys in Year 13 signed up and this month it was the turn of boys and girls in Year 12.

They signed up after a visit by representatives from the charity which works to save the lives of people with blood cancer and blood disorders.

Dylan Feingold, head of the students' Charities Committee in the boys' division, was one of the first students to sign up.

He said: "Once you have given a swab and filled a form out, Anthony Nolan will then register you on their database.

"In the future, if your DNA is compatible with someone who is ill with blood cancer or a blood disorder, they will pair you up with them.

"Stem cells, which can help them get better, can be given through either blood transfusions or bone marrow. To sign up you need to be healthy and between 16 to 30 years of age. It is important work and I am delighted to see so many other students signing up."

The Anthony Nolan charity matches up donors of blood stem cells or bone marrow with people who desperately need lifesaving transplants.

Whenever a patient with blood cancer or a blood disorder needs a lifesaving stem cell transplant, the register searches looking for someone who’s a genetic match for that patient.

On the day more than 50 Sixth Form boys and girls signed up for the Anthony Nolan stem cell register this time round.

This is about 25 per cent of the Year 12 student population across both divisions.

Alice Hirst, Regional Register Development Officer for Anthony Nolan, said: “We were absolutely delighted to return to Bolton School again this year. The students are always so welcoming and well-informed. This year 54 joined the register, making an important decision that could potentially save someone’s life. We look forward to returning again next year.”

Heather Tunstall, Deputy Head of Sixth Form, said: “We are incredibly proud of our students who really do understand the importance of supporting Anthony Nolan in their work.”