A GAME of golf organised by Saltford Golf Club raised more than £3,000 for The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust.

The event was organised by club members Mike and Hilary Hucker, who are also members of the Bristol and Bath-based Friends of Anthony Nolan organisation.

Lloyds TSB and Jewsons lent their support to the day by providing prizes for the players.

The Friends of Anthony Nolan was formed four years ago with the aim of raising awareness of the need for bone marrow donors and funds for the charity.

Named after a boy who died because of the lack of a suitable bone marrow donor, the charity was set up when Anthony's mother Shirley Nolan recognised the need for a donor register.

The charity believes there is more chance of success when a transplant takes place from an unrelated donor.

Area appeals manager Penny Leyland said there was a one in four success rate for transplant recipients who rely on siblings.

The group's chairman Graham King pointed to the link between Leukaemia and bone marrow replacement treatment.

He said: "Leukaemia does not discriminate, very often the only hope for a sufferer is to receive a bone marrow transplant from a non-related donor."

"Matching a donor to a recipient is a complex business but quite simply the more people we have on the register, the more lives can be saved."

The volunteers involved in the Bristol and Bath group all on the bone marrow register.

One member of the group who did not wish to be named said: "It is a tremendous honour to be able to do such a small thing which will save a life."

Funds raised by the club will help meet the cost of registering new volunteers who are willing to donate bone marrow.

Mr King said: "The money raised at the golf tournament will now pay for 60 new volunteers to go onto the register."

"It is a tremendous achievement and I would like to give my thanks to everyone who took part for their generosity."