A MOTHER desperately hunting for a bone marrow donor has been thrown a possible lifeline.

Nikki Braterman, 45, from Brighton has been told a partial match has been found for her and an operation should go ahead early next year.

The mother-of-two was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in December 2013 and an international hunt was launched to find a donor who was perfect match to her stem cell type.

It was difficult to find because she particularly needed people who shared her Anglo-Burmese and Irish background, or those with south Asian heritage.

However doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London say the person found, a 43-year-old German man, is a good choice.

This is because Mrs Braterman’s blood antibodies do not react against his blood in the same way as it did with potential partial-match donors identified earlier in the year.

Mrs Braterman said: “I know there are a lot of risks and the outcome is still not certain, but the fact that a donor has been found gives me new hope.

“Of course, we are still looking for further donors for two reasons. First, if this transplant failed a perfectly matched donor will give me the best fallback position.

“Second, the recruitment of more donors to the register, particularly from black and minority ethnic and mixed heritage backgrounds; could save other people’s lives as well as mine.

“Whilst I know it will be tough, I am grateful I can have the transplant early in the New Year as I finally have the chance to get better.

“But before that, I have been grateful to be able to spend a very special Christmas at home with my family.”

The family launched an appeal to find a donor, through the website www.perfecttenmatch.co.uk, which provides further information on the appeal as well as links to all UK and many international donor registries.

Since the appeal was launched there have been over 350,000 hits on the website and Delete Blood Cancer has reported a 200% increase in requests for donor packs since it began supporting Mrs Braterman’s campaign.