“THERE has to be someone out there” – a young mum is pleading for blood stem cell donors to come forward as she suffers a cancer relapse.

May Brown, 23, from Weymouth,is back in hospital after her leukaemia returned again.

She had been in remission and spoke to the Echo to desperately try and find a blood stem cell donor transplant match. But she heard the devastating news last week that she had relapsed. She is now back in hospital in Bournemouth this week, in isolation, while doctors run tests.

If she passes the tests and her internal organs are strong enough, she will start an experimental drug course on Friday to try and fight the leukaemia. 

She will be able to take it at home, but will have to return to hospital every other day for blood tests and monitoring.

May, who is originally from Nigeria, is still desperately trying to find a transplant donor since she was diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia in June last year. 

She said the transplant holds the key to her recovery and ‘survival’ in the long term.

May, who is married to a British former soldier and studied at Weymouth College, said she it is ‘really scary.’

Speaking to the Echo from Royal Bournemouth Hospital, May said: “I am terrified but I put my trust in God. I said to the doctor, ‘my life is in the hands of God.’”

May said she was missing her daughter Selina-May and her husband Mike.

She added that the experimental drugs she would hopefully be going on have proved effective for people in her situation during stage one and two trials. 

She is part of the stage three trial. She said: “The drugs start Friday. The doctors want to do the initial assessment to make sure my organs are strong enough. They are doing lots of tests. By Friday the test results will be back and we will take it from there. “Hopefully everything is working fine, then I will start the trial on Friday.”

She added: “Hopefully this drug will work wonders and get me into remission. But I really need the transplant for the long term.

“There has to be someone out there. There has to be.”

People can sign up to be a blood stem cell donor online via the websites of DKMS – originally known as Delete Blood Cancer, or Anthony Nolan. It takes five minutes to register online and request a cheek swab kit that will enable you to do your own tissue test to go on the database to maybe one day become a blood stem cell donor. 

For more information visit dkms.org.uk or anthonynolan.org