Philmac has been celebrating 25 years in business this month and decided to raise money for the charity through its anniversary dinner and raffles.

The Anthony Nolan Trust is a charity close to the heart of the firm's operations manager, Jon Cooper, whose son Oliver is currently awaiting a bone marrow transplant.

A cheque was presented to the Anthony Nolan Trust on Thursday at the company's HQ in Diplocks Way.

The Anthony Nolan Trust takes back lives from leukaemia by managing and recruiting new donors to the UK's most successful bone marrow register.

It also undertakes vital research leading to improvements in the effectiveness and safety of bone marrow transplants.

Anna Spencer, from the Anthony Nolan Trust, said, "We are extremely grateful to Philmac for its support and generous contribution.

"With this donation we will be able to recruit and fully tissue type 42 new supporters to our register of potential bone marrow donors — people who might be potential life savers."

Currently 7,000 patients both in the UK and throughout the world are looking to find a suitable bone marrow donor.

The charity says it urgently needs to do more to increase the chances of life for those seeking a donor but needs more than £14.5 million every year to continue its work.

It added it wanted to recruit more young male donors and those of UK minority ethnic backgrounds to its register of potential donors.