Comedian Al Murray is urging people across the UK to sign up to the stem cell register following the death of his eight-year-old nephew Finley from a rare form of blood cancer in 2021. The 58-year-old, best known for his Pub Landlord character, has teamed up with the charity Anthony Nolan for its new Half a Chance campaign, which highlights that only half of blood cancer patients survive for five years or more after receiving a stem cell transplant.
Campaign video set in a pub
Filmed in a traditional pub, the campaign video features Murray alongside three stem cell transplant recipients, with three empty barstools beside them to represent those still waiting for a match. Speaking to Lauren Del Fabbro, Murray said: "Seeing my brother-in-law and his wife lose their son, and seeing the fact that there was a chance of defeating this, of escaping from the cancer via stem cell donation, you just think, well, more people need to know about that."
He added: "It feels like you're being asked to pack a parachute for a stranger. Why wouldn't you go on this register? Why wouldn't you do this? Particularly as the chances are they won't call you."
Who is needed and how donation works
Registering does not guarantee a donation, as a recipient must closely match the donor's tissue profile. Charity figures show that nine out of 10 donations are taken directly from the bloodstream, with the remaining 10% gathered from bone marrow. Both procedures are performed thousands of times each year and remain exceptionally safe for all involved.
Murray is registered himself but is now past the age limit. He wants young people aged 16 to 30, as well as people from minority ethnic backgrounds, to step up. He said: "It's a sort of numbers game. The more people they have, the more data they have, the better they understand it, the better they can increase people's chances of survival. It's like buying a lottery ticket, but someone else wins."
Remembering Finley
Finley, who would have turned 13 this year, was remembered by Murray as a "jolly" and "terrific" boy. The comedian spoke openly about the impact of the loss on his family: "There isn't a day we don't think about him. Watching people lose a child is probably the worst thing you can be adjacent to, apart from losing one yourself. It was a horrible, horrible, bitter experience."
Murray described how the illness turned their lives upside down, but stressed: "There is a way to get round this terrible, terrible pernicious illness." He encouraged people to sign up, saying: "When you meet the people who've had the stem cell treatment and it's worked, they are 100% aware they've got this second chance that they've been rescued by a stranger – by a stranger's intervention. It's a beautiful thing that you could do if you got on the register."
Anyone wanting to sign up can visit anthonynolan.org/help-save-a-life/join-stem-cell-register.
