A COUPLE whose child survived leukaemia are appealing for black and minority ethnic (BME) people to register as bone marrow donors.

Michael and Sharon Beckford, of Matcham Road, Leytonstone, say lives are at risk because of a national shortage of BME donors.

They were faced with the prospect of struggling to find a match last year when their son Joshua, now aged 5, was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease.

An intensive four-month course of chemotherapy proved enough to save his life without a transplant - but Mr Beckford said many BME patients are not so fortunate.

He said: "There are so many people in the black community that need a bone marrow transplant and unfortunately, if more people don't join the register, they will die.

"I saw the number of black and mixed race people on the register and was so disgusted I knew I had to try and help in some way.

"Waltham Forest is a very diverse area and I encourage all those people out there to think about what they would do if it was one of their loved ones that needed help."

He is now campaigning on behalf of the leukaemia charity, the Anthony Nolan Trust, to increase the number of BME donors.

Mrs Beckford said: "I was devastated at the idea he might have to wait for a donor.

"The chances were he'd need a black or mixed race donor.

" Joshua lost all his hair and a quarter of his bodyweight during chemotherapy, but has been in remission for more than a year and bears no trace of his ordeal.

Mrs Beckford said: "Joshua didn't know how seriously ill he was - you can't tell a three-year old he might die.

"But now he's settled in well at school, and he's at that age where he loves everything - Disney, Transformers, playing football with daddy.

"He's a normal, happy-go-lucky five-year-old now. People cant believe that he's so unaffected by it."

For more on registering as a bone marrow donor, visit www.anthonynolan.org.uk or call 0901 88 22 234.