MY Dad was diagnosed as having leukaemia in May, 1997 - which was a severe shock to me, mother and him.

I am an only child and live with my parents, both of whom are seriously ill.

My father, as I have already said, suffers from leukaemia and my mother suffers from Raynaud's Disease and scleroderma which affects the circulation, sometimes resulting in complete loss of circulation in the fingers and toes.

This disease causes my mother much discomfort, and, like leukaemia, at present there is no cure.

Last week my father was informed that the treatment he has been on for the past nine months has had no effect. Therefore, he requires a bone marrow transplant.

This would require the bone marrow from another person to be transplanted into him after his infected marrow has been destroyed, resulting in the possible cure of his condition.

This may sound a relatively routine procedure, but the chance of my father finding a suitable donor is one in 80,000 across the whole of Europe. The sad thing is, bone marrow can be taken out of almost anyone, and you do not have to have died before you can donate.

Almost anyone can undergo a simple procedure of tissue typing which would then put them in a European database of possible donors, giving someone a better chance of living a life which most of us take for granted.

This is the reason for my letter. Something must be done - when you think that hundreds, maybe thousands, of people are walking around Britain as you read this requiring a bone marrow transplant and basically the odds are just not good enough.

The condition of leukaemia needs to be better publicised and awareness needs to be spread to make the odds of survival much better.

Finally, I would like to ask a question: Are you currently on the European database for donors? I rest my case.

ANDREW BAINES (aged 16), Bolton Road, Abbey Village.

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