A TEENAGER with leukaemia has less than a year to find a bone marrow donor to save his life.

Luke Hope was diagnosed with the blood cancer a day before his 18th birthday, turning his world upside down.

The Adver is calling on its readers to join the bone marrow register to see if they could help save him.

He told the Adver: “When I was told I had leukaemia my parents were next to me crying and I didn’t understand why because I didn’t know what it was.

“They explained to me and that’s when I broke down and cried. I was distraught, I felt like my life was coming to an end.

“I ended up losing sight in my right eye earlier this year, which was a big shock to me. I struggle with my spacial awareness but I’m getting used to it now.”

The 19-year-old is an apprentice at Apollo Motor Group and says his team has shown him a massive amount of support.

Last year they held dress-down Fridays and raised £400 which they gave to their colleague.

Luke, of Wood Hall Drive, said: “I used to work for Iceland. Them and my current employers have shown a lot of support. My friends have always stayed by my side too.

“I just need to get this transplant as soon as possible. A lot of people have signed up to be a donor but I’ve had a couple of matches that haven’t worked out.

“They couldn’t be a donor because they’ve had an infection called CMV and it stays in your body for the rest of your life.

“Getting this transplant would give me a second chance at life. I feel grateful and amazed that so many people are trying to help. It would just mean so much to me to find a good match.”

His dad, Paul said he had less than a year to find the perfect match. He has tried to spread the word around to get more people registering with DKMS – an international non-profit bone marrow donor centre.

Paul said: “Me and his mum Sandra just thought he was being a typical teenager when he complained about pains in his legs and being tired all the time. But when I found out it was leukaemia my whole world came crashing down, I felt like I had put my child at risk, in hindsight I know that’s not true because he had to see six different doctors before they got it right.

“I wish I could take his suffering away from him, I just hope and pray that his treatment comes soon.”

Borough councillor Bazil Solomon tweeted to his followers to help spread the message.

A bone marrow transplant replaces damaged blood cells with healthy ones. Donor cells are put into the blood stream using a tube called a central venous catheter.

The cells then travel through the blood stream and into the bone marrow.

To join the register visit dkms.org.uk