Donor plea leukaemia child dies

Keiton had been suffering from leukaemia since 2003

An eight-year-old boy from Sussex who needed a rare bone marrow transplant has died from leukaemia.

Keiton Knight, from Hove, was of mixed race, so finding a suitable donor had proved difficult despite a high profile campaign led by his family last year.

He had been battling the disease since 2003 and died peacefully at home with his mother and grandmother by his side.

Last year, his family tried to find a donor match at the Notting Hill Carnival in London and held a concert.

During his short life, Keiton had to endure bouts of chemotherapy, and was also paralysed from the waist down at one point.

There was somebody out there who was right for Keiton but we just didn't reach them in time Warren Knight

His death was announced on Friday by the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust.

A tribute on its website described Keiton as "an incredibly bubbly, smiley and energetic child with a beautiful, cheeky smile" who touched many hearts.

"A true little soldier that, despite a painful illness, was always full of smiles, laughter and remarkable courage.

"He was aware of how cancer was affecting his life but he remained strong and hardly ever complained."

It added that his life was to be celebrated, not mourned.

Shortage of donors

As well as looking for potential mixed race donors at the carnival, relatives also arranged other searches, which included enlisting the support of pop stars and footballers.

Last October his family launched a campaign to raise £500,000 for stem cell treatment.

His uncle, Warren Knight, said: "There was somebody out there who was right for Keiton but we just didn't reach them in time.

"With Keiton's passing, we just hope people will realise the severity of the shortage of donors out there."

It was thought Keiton had overcome acute lymphoblastic leukaemia after being diagnosed in June 2003.

But during the last month of his treatment it emerged that his leukaemia had transformed into a different type of blood cancer in a process doctors had seen only once or twice before.

He had a rare tissue type because he had a white mother and a black father.