THE plight of a Brierley Hill teenager in a race against time for a bone marrow transplant touched so many hearts that the number of people from the area stepping forward to be donors has soared.

Leukaemia sufferer Omar Al-Shaikh's only hope for life is to find a suitable person from his mixed heritage background with matching bone marrow to donate their stem cells for transplant.

And, since his life-or-death battle was highlighted by the News Group, the number of people from Birmingham and the Black Country signing up as possible donors with the Anthony Nolan register has been two and a half times the normal rate.

As Omar, of Madison Avenue, continues hospital treatment, 368 people from the area registered as donors between March 30 and Monday - and almost half of them were from an ethnic minority background.

A spokesman for the Anthony Nolan charity said it was a "fantastic" response - although the new donors still need to be tested to find out if they could be suitable for Omar and it is still a needle in a haystack chance of finding the right match.

It was especially encouraging for the charity that 48.5 per cent of those coming forward were from a minority ethnic background, as normally only around ten per cent had that heritage.

Omar's mother, Mirabela Al-Shaikh, aged 38, said: "It's lovely that so many people came forward. Omar's story obviously touched their hearts.

"Omar is a bit more optimistic - the more people that sign up the more chance for him.

"But even if it doesn't help him, we are pleased if it helps someone else who is waiting for a transplant.

"My son cannot live without this.

"I would give him my life - but unfortunately I cannot do that."

She said coverage of the story in Romania - her homeland - had also brought more potential donors from that country and she had received supportive phone calls from as far away as Spain and Sweden.

Omar had thought his battle with leukaemia was over after getting the "all clear" last October - but his joy was short-lived and he was told a few weeks ago that it had returned.

He was told if a donor was not found within three months his chances were slim - and the clock has now ticked down to two months.

His mixed heritage makes it harder to find a suitable donor and traditionally people from ethnic minority backgrounds are under-represented on the register.

Hopes were high that Omar's 12-year-old sister, Dana, may be a good match but that was found not to be the case.

He is continuing chemotherapy treatment at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the hope of getting him well enough to undergo a transplant if a suitable stem cell donor is found.

Omar's family is planning to help his school, the Four Dwellings Academy in Quinton, to raise funds for the Anthony Nolan charity.

Representatives of Anthony Nolan also plan to visit the school to talk to pupils about the need for donors.

For more information or to register as a donor, visit www.anthonynolan.org