A mother is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant so she can see her two young children grow up.

Nikki Braterman was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in December 2013 and went through chemotherapy – but has since suffered a relapse.

Her only hope of survival now is to find a donor who is a ‘perfect match’ to her stem cell type.

She is desperately seeking people who share her ethnic background, Anglo-Burmese and Irish, or people with south Asian heritage, to volunteer as potential stem cell donors through their national registry.

The 45-year-old, from Brighton, said: “I’m a mum to two small children, aged seven and four, and I want to see them grow up. If you are reading this story and think that you may be able to help then please, please get in touch, you might just be able to save my life.

“When we heard the news of my diagnosis it was a devastating blow to all our family. The treatment has been tough to bear, especially the amount of separation I have had from them throughout.”

Mrs Braterman has had four rounds of chemotherapy since her diagnosis – requiring a hospital stay of about a month each time – and had thought she was on the road to recovery.

However, she has since had a relapse and is now desperately searching for a perfect-match donor who could save her life.

Strength She added: “The news of the relapse has been even tougher, as I had just begun to regain strength.

“I know now that a transplant is the only hope I have to survive to see my children grow up. The bone marrow donor registers have previously been searched and we didn’t find a perfect match.

“I am desperate to find the match, which is why we have launched this appeal.”

About 2,600 people are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia each year in the UK. It occurs when stem cells, which are found in the bone marrow, produce excessive numbers of immature white blood cells.

Geoff Braterman, Nikki’s husband, said, “We are desperately and urgently seeking a perfect match donor for my beautiful wife Nikki.

“I don’t want to lose her and I don’t want my kids to grow up without their mum.

“Please take a look at our website and share our story on social media.

“The right donor is out there somewhere, we just need to find them quickly.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you think you may be able to help Nikki then check out your national registry. 

In the UK, this can be done with the Anthony Nolan Trust for those aged 16 to 30, with Delete Blood Cancer or with the British Bone Marrow Registry. 

If outside the UK, people can help by sharing Nikki’s story via social media or on www.perfecttenmatch.co.uk
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/perfecttenmatch
Twitter feed:  www.twitter.com/perfecttenmatch