A man has given the gift of life to an American leukaemia patient he has never met.

Roy Johnson, 37, a systems analyst, of Wharfe View Road, Ilkley, has donated bone marrow from his hip bones to help save the life of an unknown American woman after finding his tissue type was a one-in-a-thousand match for hers.

Father-of-two Mr Johnson had the procedure, known as "harvesting" the bone marrow, done under general anaesthetic at University College Hospital, London.

Surgeons bored two holes into his back and extracted the marrow in liquid form from either side of his spine with syringes.

The marrow was then jetted out to the USA where its recipient is critically ill and had undergone three weeks of intensive chemotherapy in preparation for the lifesaving transplant.

Mr Johnson, who has been on the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Register for three years, said: "If you can help someone in that situation then you should. Maybe this was her last chance, so I'm happy to help.

"I know some people are a little bit squeamish about donating bone marrow but when you think you might be saving a child's life or a parent's life then it's something you have to do. When you have children yourself it makes you realise that life is precious.

"I know if someone in my family got leukaemia I would be desperate for a donor to come forward. It doesn't matter that this woman's in America."

He said that afterwards he felt "a bit stiff" for a few days but added: "I would be more than happy to do it all again for another patient."

The Anthony Nolan Trust was set up in 1974 to operate a register of volunteers willing to donate bone marrow to leukaemia sufferers.

It currently has 290,000 names on its register but is hoping to increase that to more than 400,000.

There are 7,000 unmatched children in the UK in desperate need of a bone-marrow transplant to survive.

Although the trust has a policy of not revealing the name of the recipient for at least two years after the donation, Mr Johnson sent the woman a good luck card after his operation and will receive regular updates on her condition.

To contact the Trust contact (01423) 879510.

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