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Keighton Knight's mum Paris is desperate to find a bone marrow donor to save his life
Six-year-old Keiton Knight from Hove has leukaemia and is at the Royal Marsden hospital having intensive chemo and radiation treatment.
When that finishes he will need a bone marrow transplant but so far no match has been found for him.
His mother and his medical team have trawled the medical registers in 55 different countries including the US without success.
Keiton's condition
Keiton has an extremely rare tissue type because he is mixed race with a white mother and a black father. That makes finding a suitable donor even more difficult.
Keiton was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2003. In the past month the disease has taken another form known as acute myeloidblastic leukaemia which means he urgently needs a transplant.
Keiton's uncle says that "he is an amazing child to be able to go through what he as for the last three years and still have a smile on his face".
Appeal for bone marrow donors
An urgent appeal has been launched to find a bone marrow donor to help save Keiton's life. The potential donor must be of similar parental background and aged between 18 - 44 years old.
His mother Paris is spending all her time with her son at the hospital. Her older brother Warren, Keiton's uncle, is now organising the appeal for people to come forward and have a blood test.
Warren is working with the Anthony Nolan Trust and The Afro Carribean Leukaemia Trust. He has organised clinic days where people can go down and give blood, to find out if they are legible to be a donor.
The dates that are confirmed so far (in London) are: 27th Sept EC2, 1st Oct N9, 3rd Oct EC1, 4th Oct WC1, 5th Oct WC2.
For further information contact the Anthony Nolan Trust Hotline number - 0901 88 22234
Individuals need to be aged 18-40 to join the register.
Leukaemia: the facts
Every year 24,500 people are diagnosed with leukaemia in Britain.
Leukaemia is a form of cancer and is caused by the uncontrolled growth of blood cells. This happens when the genes that govern cell life become damaged and no longer properly control cell growth and death.
There are four main types of leukaemia and each disease has its own characteristics and treatment:
Chronic myeloid
Acute myeloid
Chronic lymphocytic
Acute lymphoblastic
These various types of leukaemia are divided into two main groups: Acute and Chronic. They are further divided by the type of white blood cell which is affected.
Acute leukaemias come on suddenly, often within days or weeks, progressing quickly and need to be treated urgently. Chronic leukaemias develop more slowly often over many months or years.
Leukaemia in kids
The older we become, the greater the chance of accumulated gene damage likely to spark cancer. However, there are exceptions to this rule and a small number of children develop leukaemia, lymphoma and the related blood disorders every year .
In the UK, 1,200 children are diagnosed with cancer every year. About 40% of these are blood cancers, the most common of which is acute leukaemia.
To get more information and advice on leukaemia and becoming a bone marrow donor click on the links below
