Fight Cancer Foundation founding member honoured on Australia Day

Fight Cancer Foundation founding member Fay Duncan has been recognised in the 2016 Australia Day Honours for her 25 years of helping people living with leukaemia and blood cancers to have a better chance at life.

Ms Duncan becomes a Member of the Order of Australia for her work in helping establish the Bone Marrow Donor Institute (which became Fight Cancer Foundation in 2009), and being instrumental in the creation of the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry in 1990, Bone Marrow Research Laboratory in 1994, the BMDI Cord Blood Bank in 1996 and Fight Cancer Foundation’s first patient accommodation centre in 2003.

“The lives Fay and the supporters of Fight Cancer Foundation have saved and the incredible improvements they have made to the lives of people living with cancer are absolutely remarkable,” Ms Furness and Mr Jackman said.

“One in four Australians needing a bone marrow transplant will be unable to find a donor match within their family. The work of Fay and a small group of committed volunteers means that now over 175,000 people are registered with the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and patients have access to over 10 million donors worldwide,” Mr Wright said.

Following the diagnosis of a close friend’s daughter with leukaemia and limited treatment options, Ms Duncan joined with a small group of concerned parents to establish a bone marrow registry.

Once the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry was founded, Ms Duncan and her colleagues subsequently raised over $10 million to fund the Rotary Bone Marrow Research Centre, BMDI Cord Blood Bank and BMDI Rotary House in North Melbourne.