Family's bone marrow list plea to help eight-year-old daughter

fter undergoing gruelling bouts of chemotherapy and fighting off pneumonia, septicaemia and shingles, the eight-year-old went in to remission from the disease earlier this year.

But her parents Jonathan and Michelle, of Normanton, have now been dealt the devastating blow that Zara, who attends Westwood Primary School in Leeds, has relapsed.

The youngster, whose treatment was initially due to end in April, faces three more months of intensive chemotherapy and will then need a bone marrow transplant in the new year.

Her parents said: “To be told your child has cancer the first time is devastating.

“For her to fight back and then to be told the cancer is back is indescribable.”

The couple are urging people to sign up to the Bone Marrow Register.

Mr Lundy said: “We feel like we have lost control of everything. We are trying to be proactive and get as many people as possible to sign up to the transplant list and raise awareness of how vitally important it is.

“We hope that if our family isn’t a match, there will be someone out there who can help Zara.

“We are doing everything we can to increase her chances of finding one. And at the same time we also want to get more people to join up, to support others in this awful situation.”

Leukaemia is one of several diseases that can prevent bone marrow from working properly.

For many of these cancer patients, the only possibility of a cure is to have a transplant from a healthy donor.

In around 30 per cent of cases, a match can be found within their family.

But 70 per cent of those in need rely on a matched donor being found through the NHS British Bone Marrow Registry.

People can find out more about donating and sign up to the register by visting www.anthonynolan.org, www.dkms.org.uk or www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/bonemarrowTo follow Zara’s story visit ‘Zara Lundy – Though she be but little she is fierce’ on Facebook.