A man may have saved the life of someone he has never met by giving his bone marrow.

Stephen Ashley, 35, does not even know the name of the leukaemia sufferer who he has donated bone marrow to.

All he has been told about the recipient is that it is a man who lives somewhere in the UK.

Mr Ashley, a financial planning executive, said: "I just hope it restores him and helps him get better. If he wants to meet me that is fine but it is his decision."

Mr Ashley, who is married with a daughter, will have to wait for at least two years before he may find out who he helped. Even then they will only be put in contact if the recipient wants to meet him.

Mr Ashley, who lives in Bexhill, was on the donor register for 15 years before spending two days in a London clinic where removal of tissue from his hips took place.

He said the procedure was far less painful than he had imagined it would be.

He said: "I am not good with needles but they brief you well and give you every opportunity to ask questions. They put a lot of worries to rest. For a couple of days you feel a bit stiff and sore and washed out, but after a couple of weeks you are totally back to normal. It was not as bad as I thought it would be."

Mr Ashley became a bone marrow donor following a recruitment campaign by The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust.

It is rare for those on the register to be called on to have the operation.

He said: "I became a donor because there was a big campaign at the time and they wanted people to register. It seemed like quite a worthwhile thing to do, giving someone a chance when they are seriously ill.

"I had registered quite a long time ago so it was really out of my mind. I got a letter in the New Year and it was a bit of a shock."

Mr Ashley had the operation to remove bone marrow earlier this month. He hopes to convince friends and colleagues at Natwest Bank to consider becoming a donor.

He said: "Providing you can put up with the thought of the procedure it is such a worthwhile thing to do. You do not often get the chance to have a life-saving affect on someone."

The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust was set up in 1974 to record and encourage donors to register. The trust was set up by Shirley Nolan while her son Anthony was suffering from leukaemia. Anthony desperately needed bone marrow but a donor could not be found and no register existed to trace suitable people.

The register was set up and now has more than 300,000 people on it. Last year the trust found donors for 314 sufferers but more people are needed to register, particularly men and ethnic minorities.

A trust spokesman: "We need donors to help patients suffering from diseases which can only be helped by a bone marrow transplant. All adults are eligible to give and should think about doing so. One day they might just save a life."

To join the register you should be between 18-40 and weigh more than eight stone. For more information about the trust phone 0901 8822234 or log on to www.anthonynolan.org.uk