Islington News: Melissa Bell | Soul II Soul | Carol Concert | Mary Rankin Centre

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published:24 December 2008

Melissa Bell with Akshaya Wasu

X Factor star’s mum shows Alex isn’t the only one with a voice

Soul II Soul singer performs at dialysis centre

THE mother of X Factor superstar Alexandra Burke held a carol concert yesterday (Tuesday) to raise awareness of one of London’s most important dialysis centres.
Former soul singer Melissa Bell wowed patients and staff alike at the Mary Rankin centre at St Pancras Hospital – part of the Royal Free.
Melissa, 44, revealed that following publication of her appeal for a kidney donor in the Islington Tribune last week she received several replies which she is following up.
Melissa, who has kidney failure brought on by diabetes, undergoes dialysis at the centre three times a week. Each session takes four hours.
The former singer with the group Soul II Soul encouraged patients, doctors, nurses and general staff to join in a rendition of popular carols like We Wish you a Merry Christmas, and number of popular Motown classics.
She said she was looking forward to the best Christmas Day ever with her four children and Alexandra back in the bosom of the family.
She said: “It’s been an incredible year but if you had told me back in the summer that Alex would become a megastar I would have thought you were mad.”
A team from Leopard films were filming the event for a series of programmes on organ transplants being shown on BBC1 from April 13.
Akshaya Wasu, of the Soho-based Kidney Alliance, attended the event to promote World Kidney Day in March.
Akshaya said that 10 per cent of adults have some form of kidney damage .
“More than 1,500 kidney transplants are performed in the UK every year,” she said.
“Many more could be performed if more kidneys were available.”

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: