A Brighton mother who needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life has thanked the thousands of people who responded to her plea for a donor.
But complications in Nikki Braterman’s condition have meant that she and her husband Geoff have stepped back from active campaigning to focus on her treatment.
Mrs Braterman, 45, who lives in the Preston Park area, had acute myeloid leukaemia diagnosed last December.
After undergoing months of treatment, she thought that she was on the road to recovery but has now had a relapse.
For medical reasons, Mrs Braterman’s best hope of survival is to find a donor who is a “perfect match” to her stem cell type.
She is desperately seeking people who share her ethnic background – Anglo-Burmese and Irish – or people with south Asian heritage to volunteer as potential stem cell donors through their national registry.
The couple said: “Our campaign to find a bone marrow stem cell donor for Nikki has met with a tremendous response.
“We have had over 250,000 hits on our website www.perfecttenmatch.co.uk and the response has been tremendous.
“Anthony Nolan have been in touch and have said that there has been a surge in demand for test kits as a result of our campaign.
“This will only lead to more donors on the register and this could benefit Nikki and countless other people in a similar situation.
“Following the initial interest, it transpires that Nikki’s case is highly complex and difficult to treat.
“This is because of the presence of leukaemia in her central nervous system, which is highly unusual but in Nikki’s case this is the immediate clinical priority to address.
“The exact treatment plan is highly complex and at the moment is changing by the day.
“The family have decided to step back from all activities promoting the campaign until it is clearer what exactly Nikki’s treatment entails.
“The priority for the moment has to be to support Nikki and also her young children.
“Nevertheless, we still encourage people to register as a bone marrow stem cell donor as this could still save lives.
“We also appreciate all the support that the media has provided to promote awareness of the issue.
“However, given current uncertainties the family has asked to be left alone and further updates will be provided as we know more about Nikki’s ongoing treatment plan.”
If you think you may be able to help Nikki then please check out your national registry. In the UK, this can be with the Anthony Nolan Trust for those aged 16-30, with Delete Blood Cancer or with the British Bone Marrow Registry. Outside the UK, please see the list of Bone Marrow Registers.
As someone with a transplant I have been aware that mixed ethnicity can prove to be a quite serious matching problem. You effectively create unique people. I could not feel more sad for this lady’s plight.