Hundreds of people flocked to a bone marrow registration drive this week in a bid to find much-needed donors for leukaemia.

The Afro-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) joined forces with the Anthony Nolan Trust to urge more ethnic minorities and people from the black community to come forward.

At present, the lack of people registered means that children like seven-year-old Dean Sheikh, who is criticaly ill with blood cancer, have only a one in 100,000 chance of finding a match.

Without a donor, Dean will die. People across Harrow responded to this devastating news by visiting Barclays Bank in Station Road, Edgware, on Saturday and joining the register.

Baz Singh, a spokesman for the ACLT, said the response to its latest drive was a positive step but that more potential donors were desperately needed.

He said: "The drive went fantastically well and we had about 150 people join the register.

"At present we are looking to step up the number of registration drives and make a real push, because getting people on the list is just so important."

This push comes just weeks after the death of Daniel De Gale, the son of ACLT founders Beverley De Gale and Orin Lewis.

Mr De Gale was diagnosed with leukaemia in April 1993 in 1999 he became one of the first black people to receive a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor.

Daniel, 21, was in remission, but due to complications with his health, he suffered multiple organ failure and died in hospital earlier this month.

Reena Combo was one of many to register on the day and the 26-year-old, who travelled from Birmingham to help out, is looking to spread the need for donors in the Asian community.

She said: "I met Dean Sheikh's mum through their Facebook site and their story has made a massive impact on me.

"I am a complete needle-phobic but I was happy to go through with it because I think the idea that I could potentially save someone's life is the greatest thing I can do.

"I lost a cousin who I was really close to a couple of years ago because he couldn't find a kidney match and it occurred to me then that a lot of first generation Asians just don't know about bone marrow."

* Have you been a bone marrow donor? Are you, a member of your family or a friend waiting for a life-saving bone marrow transplant? If so, we would like to hear from you.

Write to Harrow Observer series, 5th floor, Congress House, Lyon Road, Harrow, HA1 2EN, join our Harrow Observer bone marrow donor register group on Facebook or send an email to davidtilley@trinitysouth.co.uk.

For more information on joining the register you can visit www.anthonynolan.org.uk or phone the Anthony Nolan Trust on 020 7424 6624.