Comic’s appeal for stem-cell donors

COMEDIAN AL Murray is urging people to sign the blood stemcell register after his nephew was struck by leukaemia.

Six-year-old Finley Relf has a rare and aggressive form of the disease and his only hope of a cure is a bone-marrow transplant.

Finley’s parents Ben and Nicky Relf sought medical help after noticing he was losing weight. He was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), a rare type of blood disorder that occurs in young children.

The youngster, from Haywards Heath, West Sussex, is having chemotherapy at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Murray’s partner, Eleanor Relf, is Ben Relf ’s sister.

Murray told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme: “Finley is undergoing chemotherapy but his best chance of fighting the disease is a bone-marrow transplant.

“He has JMML, a super-rare leukaemia and 12 kids a year get it probably. He needs a blood stemcell transplant.”

Murray said Finley was undergoing gruelling treatment but was a “chirpy six-year-old who wants to run around and go swimming”.

He added: “He’s critically ill. There is a 50/50 chance of him surviving this basically and without the transplant there is no cure for JMML.”

Murray said Finley needed a transplant “before Christmas – this has got to happen right away”.

Jonathan Pearce, chief executive of the blood stem-cell charity DKMS, which is looking for a donor for Finley, said: “We desperately need more people to come forward as donors if we’re to find a match for every person with blood cancer.

“Blood cancer is the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK.”