Parents plea to save dying child

Iona has undergone a course of chemotherapy and is in isolation

The parents of a toddler who could die from leukaemia before her second birthday, are appealing for mixed-race adults to donate their bone marrow.

Iona Stratton, whose mother is Chinese and father is white, fell ill when she was just 13 weeks old and has been in hospital for most of her 22 months.

She is being cared for at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital and urgently needs a bone marrow transplant.

But her mixed ethnicity means it is proving hard to find a suitable donor.

Iona's mother Anita Kan, 34, said she spends every hour possible at the hospital with her only daughter.

"For the last two weeks it has been awful," Ms Kan said.

"I felt I had to do something. This appeal is for Iona, but not just for Iona.

"There are many children out there that need a bone marrow transplant and there's a real shortage of people from different ethnic backgrounds on the register."

'Hit her hard'

Iona has been in hospital for six weeks and is currently on an isolation ward.

Her mother said: "She's in good spirits at the moment, considering what's she's been through. The courses of chemo - that hit her hard."

Anita Kan and Iona's father, Kevan Stratton, have posted an appeal on the on-line networking website, Facebook.

You could be that special person who could save Iona's life Iona's parents

"We urgently need a suitable donor for our 22-month-old baby girl," they wrote on the webpage.

"We currently have up until the end of October to find a suitable match before a bone marrow transplant is needed."

About 4,500 people have joined the on-line appeal.

Iona's parents, from Tring in Hertfordshire, want people of a similar ethnic background to their toddler to have their blood tested.

"A sample of blood is taken and sent back to the laboratory for tissue typing to see if you are a match.

"If you are, then you could be that special person who could save Iona's life."

The Anthony Nolan Trust, a charity which matches leukaemia patients with donors, said of the potential donors listed on its register, less than 4% of volunteers are Asian.

The figure is much lower for many other ethnic groups.

People interested in becoming a potential donor should call the Anthony Nolan Trust on 020 7284 1234.