Gravely ill Pete’s joy as appeal adds 29,742 to list of UK stem cell donors

TERMINALLY ill father-of-two Pete McCleave was celebrating last night as the campaign he launched to get 10,000 people signed up as stem cell donors reached its first anniversary, having smashed through its initial target.

Pete, whose family roots lie in Northern Ireland, also revealed the campaign has also found its seventh stem cell match — a remarkable achievement for the 41-year-old as he deals with his own terminal cancer diagnosis.

In March 2017 Pete was diagnosed with myeloma (blood cancer) and told that he had seven years to live — unless a stem cell donor could be found.

He had just completed the Welsh Ironman competition in September 2016 when he felt ill.

Doctors diagnosed pneumonia before discovering lesions on his body.

The investment banker, who lives in Cheshire, said: “The McCleave side of my family are from Northern Ireland.

“My grandfather James McCleave came from Belfast and

❝ The more people from Northern Ireland who sign up, the more chance I have of that elusive match

served in the armed forces, travelling the world while enlisted.”

James McCleave met the woman who was to become Pete’s grandmother in Macau, at the time a Portuguese-administered territory near Hong Kong.

“I’m a mixture of Irish/English and Chinese/Portuguese, so my best hope, really, is Ireland and Asia,” Pete said.

“So far the response has been amazing, but the more people from Northern Ireland who sign up, the more chance I have of finding that elusive match.”

His campaign has smashed its initial target of 10,000 registered donors. “As of today we have added more then 29,742 donors to the stem cell register for the UK,” he said last night.

“Each one increases the chance that me or another blood cancer patient just like me will