LOCAL relatives of a leukaemia sufferer have been thanked for responding to an appeal in the Okehampton Times to find a life-saving bone marrow match.

The appeal, which was taken up by the national media, has resulted in a suitable donor being found for Kimberley Allistone from Taunton, whose family originates from the Okehampton and Chagford areas.

The news of a donor came shortly after Kimberley was selected to trial a new drug to combat the disease.

The 28-year-old, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia last August, said she now had two options for treatment when a few months ago she had none.

The Bristol tissue typing department found a bone marrow match for Kimberley on its worldwide register of six million people, but due to confidentiality she will never be told who or where in the world the donor is.

Among those who responded to the appeal were more than 40 local members of Kim's family.

'I am just so grateful for all the people who have come forward and given a blood test,' she said. 'Apparently it was the biggest family appeal that the tissue typing centre had ever seen.

'At one stage I was starting to panic that I would not get a donor but now I have two options. If things start to go wrong with the drug, I know I can still have a bone marrow transplant.'

Kim, and her husband, Patrick, will continue to raise the profile of the illness to get more donors on the register.

Patrick Allistone has been working tirelessly in conjunction with the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust and National Blood Service, from standing on streets handing out leaflets to contacting councils around the country in order to reach more than 250,000 council workers.

Back working part-time in the nursing home she runs with her husband, Kim is beginning to feel much better and is keeping her fingers crossed she will be cured by the new 'wonder drug' from America without the need for a transplant.

'We understand it has a 40 per cent chance of success but being a new drug it is not yet known how long the cure lasts,' she said.

Not yet available on the NHS, the drug is being tried under a special licence by around 1,000 patients and Kim is one of the 'guinea pigs'. She attends Derriford Hospital in Plymouth for the drug trial treatment.

Christine Chatfield from the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust said she appreciated the amount of people who had come forward in a bid to help Kim.

'Even if they have not provided a match for Kim, there is a 50 per cent chance that one of those people will end up as a donor,' she said. 'To get that many people on the register en bloc is terrific.'

For more details on the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust telephone 0901 8822234.