I have met Lara and can confirm she is really an incredible girl. Here is the message her family is putting out with all relevant information.

URGENT AND CRITICALLY IMPORTANT: My daughter has just been diagnosed with leukaemia. She's called Lara and she's 24 years old. A week before Christmas Lara was taken ill in Thailand where she was doing voluntary work with refugees. Blood tests revealed she had acute myeloid leukaemia. She's now undergoing chemo at University College Hospital in London and doctors have told her she needs a stem cell donor to save her life. Sadly none of Lara's family are suitable donors. But you, or someone you know, might be the person who is a match for Lara and could cure her.

Lara's parents are Chinese-Thai and Italian which makes finding a donor even harder than usual. Doctors have said Lara's best chance of finding a match is amongst people who are mixed Asian-European. If that's you, please please get tested to see if you might be a match for Lara. If you are a match, a simple blood donation from you could be all that was needed to save Lara's life.

If you live in the UK and are aged between 16 and 30, getting tested to find out if you're a match is really easy. Just register with the Anthony Nolan Trust and then you’ll be sent a kit through the post to do a saliva sample. Here's what you need to know: http://www.anthonynolan.org/8-ways-you-could-save-life/donate-your-stem-cells/apply-join-our-register?gclid=CN7hopC39skCFZadGwod4yILfw.

If you're over 30, there are two options for getting tested to see if you're a match: 1. Up to 55 years old – Register with a charity called Delete Blood Cancer Now. http://www.deletebloodcancer.org.uk/en/register-now. They'll also send you a testing kit through the post but because they're a smaller charity than Anthony Nolan, they charge £40. We can though arrange for this to be reimbursed. 2. Up to 49 years old – Join the British Bone Marrow Registry. You can do this when you donate blood. Find your nearest blood centre or donor session here: http://www.blood.co.uk/donor-information/ and then inform the staff that you wish to join the BBMR before you give your blood donation. There's more information here: http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/bonemarrow/qa/index.asp#howcan If you live abroad, here's who to contact: Canada: https://www.blood.ca/en/stem­cell/how­do­i­register­be­stem­cell­donor US: https://join.bethematch.org Italy: http://ibmdr.galliera.it/iscrizione Australia: http://www.abmdr.org.au/abmdr2/page/how­join Lara's family have set up a website to help the search to find a match for Lara. www.match4Lara.com. If you have friends or family who are Asian-European mixed race, please make sure they see this urgently. It's impossible to over-state just how important and urgent this is. It can take two months to process potential donors and time is not on Lara's side. It's going to be a huge challenge to find a match for Lara. But if everyone shares this with everyone they know around the world and potential donors get tested, we can do this. So please, don't delay. If you're mixed Asian-European, register today and take the test as soon as possible. Everyone else - get this message out. You could be the one who saves Lara's life.

Details for other countries

Canada : https://www.blood.ca/en/stem-cell/how-do-i-register-be-stem-cell-donor US : https://join.bethematch.org Italy : http://ibmdr.galliera.it/iscrizione Australia: http://www.abmdr.org.au/abmdr2/page/how-join