A COUNTDOWN has begun for a former security guard who is set to be given the chance of a new life.

Michael Baines is set to receive a bone marrow transplant from an American donor after a global search.

Doctors have set a date of October 5 for the operation at the Christie Hospital, Manchester and now Michael, of Abbey Village, is undergoing final tests and treatment before the big day.

After two years looking for a match in Britain, the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust searched databases of millions of donors abroad. A woman in America was found to be a match.

It will be some time before it is known if the operation, which Michael has been told has a 70 per cent success rate, has worked. Michael, who lives his wife, Julia, in Bolton Road, was diagnosed in 1997 after he went to the doctor with a swelling in his stomach.

Michael's nephew Anthony Forsyth, 27, of Hargreaves Road, Oswaldtwistle, and friend 19-year-old Barbara Whalley, 19, of Bamber Bridge are taking part in the Great North Run to raise cash for the Anthony Nolan appeal.