A family has issued a desperate plea for help in a race against time to find a bone marrow donor to save a nine-year-old Bradford girl's life.

The appeal follows the deaths - within only three weeks - of two boys from Bradford who lost their long fights against rare bone marrow disorders after searches for matching bone marrow failed.

Adil Khan, six, died last month at his Undercliffe home. Doctors at St James's Hospital, Leeds, told his family there was nothing further they could do for Adil, who had a rare immune deficiency disease.

Naveed Rafiq, 11, of Heaton, who suffered from Fanconis Anaemia which also affected his immune system, died on March 15 at St Luke's Hospital, Bradford.

Now the family of Munibah Akram, nine, who also suffers from Fanconis Anaemia, has renewed a plea for help before her condition deteriorates in a matter of months.

Her sister Misbah said time was running out and more people from the Asian community who have the right bone marrow tissue type needed to come forward and be tested.

The deaths of the two boys had come as a big blow and reinforced the need to find a donor to combat the condition which had claimed the life of their brother Hamad, six, 12 years ago.

Munibah, from Heaton, was now tiring more and needed blood transfusions every fortnight. Doctors had told them she needed a transplant within a matter of months.

"She is pretty lively most of the time but she's heard about what has happened and is more aware now as she's older.

"Before we had something to aim for. We had hope in that we were not alone but this has really brought things home," she said. "We really need to find a donor from the Asian community but at the moment there aren't many on the register."

Adil's dad, Altaf, said the family were still trying to come to terms with his loss. He had been very ill for his last six months and by the time he died doctors were unable to find a vein to give him drugs or blood transfusions and his body was very vulnerable to infections.

"In the end he just faded away," he said. "They told us we might as well take him home because they couldn't do any more for him.

"They said he might have a week or ten days and in fact he lasted nearly a month.

"I will do anything I can to get more people to come forward because I don't want any parent to go through and suffer what we have for seven years."

Tina Emmott of the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust said more donors from the Asian community were desperately needed but previous appeals had received a poor response.

"In the meantime two more children have died - it really is quite distressing," she said.

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