A five-year-old girl, who won the hearts of Craveners after battling with leukaemia, launched a new appeal this month for the trust which found her a bone marrow donor.

India Farmer, who was born in Steeton's Airedale General Hospital and brought up in Lothersdale, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia two years ago.

She appealed for a bone marrow donor through The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust when no-one in her family matched her tissue type.

Thousands of donors responded to her plea for help and clinics were set up in Skipton, Barnoldswick and all over the country.

To the great relief of her mother Joanna, who used to go to school in Barnoldswick and spent three years in Lothersdale before moving to Harrogate to be closer to the hospital facilities, a donor was found last year.

India then went through a course of chemotherapy and rediotherapy before her operation last September at St James's Hospital, Leeds.

In recognition of her tremendous courage, India was awarded the Youngster of the Year title at the 1998 Yorkshire Young Achiever Awards.

She was also given the honour of helping to launch The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust's Jubilee "Silver Lining Appeal".

This has been organised to celebrate 25 years of matching unrelated bone marrow donors with leukaemia victims like India and others in need of life-saving transplants and to highlight the trust's ongoing task of expanding its register of volunteer bone marrow donors.

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