A lot of people will know that while I've been at university, a little thing called Marrow has been a huge part of my life. The truth is, this amazing charity has been in my life for much longer.

When I was 8, my mum became ill. It was hard for the doctors to know what was wrong, and harder for me to understand just how serious it might be. Unfortunately, it was serious, and eventually my mum was diagnosed with myelodysplasia, a form of blood cancer. I learnt that my mum needed a 'bone marrow transplant' but I didn't know where she was going to get it from, the thing is, neither did she or the doctors. No one knew where the transplant was going to come from. I was coming up to 10 by this point and understood a bit more about what was happening but in my naivety I was still sure that this transplant was coming and my mum would be well again. However, the truth of the matter is that not only did the doctors not know where the transplant was coming from, but they also knew that it was unlikely that it was ever going to happen at all.

I'll stop right there though. Because behind the scenes was this amazing charity called Anthony Nolan who were searching the entire planet for a donor who could be a match for my mum's transplant. And they did it. They found a match. A 30 year old man from Canada. An actual lifesaver.

It was a long road to recovery for my mum, but she's done it. I am so pleased to say that she is healthy and making the most of life! I don't like to think about what would have happened if there wasn't a match for my mum, but I do know that things would have been very different if it wasn't for Anthony Nolan. And that is why I am running the London Marathon for this charity.

Every 20 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with leukaemia and 70% of patients needing a bone marrow or stem cell transplant rely on Anthony Nolan to match them up with a complete stranger who could save their life. How incredible is that? For each person that Anthony Nolan adds to the register, it costs £60. By raising £2040, we'll be funding 34 more people to join the register.

I am running the London Marathon with Adi and Kat, who are both also part of the National Marrow committee. Please help us raise more funds for this inspirational charity so that we can save more lives and keep more families together.