THE life of a leukaemia sufferer in America has been saved by a 29-year-old Whitefield man.

James Mann donated his bone marrow to the patient, whom he has never met and is never likely to meet.

For ethical reasons, donors are given very little information about the patient who will undergo a bone marrow operation, although they can ask for regular updates.

Mr Mann, of Lancaster Avenue, said: "All I know is that my recipient is an adult male in America. He will have received the transplant within hours of my donation and will now be spending time in isolation. I hope to hear good news about him soon.

"I am really proud that I have been able to help someone in this way. It is something that is very close to my heart and it is wonderful to think that I could have saved someone's life."

Mr Mann, a married father-of-two, joined the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow register five years ago, after hearing about the plight of a girl in Radcliffe who needed the same operation.

He said: "My wife Julie and I attended an information session organised by the charity. We were told about the need for more bone marrow donors in order to increase the chances of finding matches for leukaemia patients. I was so touched that I ended up becoming the chairman of Radcliffe Friends of the charity."

In December, Mr Mann was contacted by the trust and was asked to give more blood samples. He was told he was a match for a patient and the charity made arrangements for him to travel to London for a medical to check that he was fit and healthy.

And this month he went down to London again for the actual "harvest" of the bone marrow.

There are now two ways that bone marrow can be collected. A new system allows stem cells to be collected and the donor is treated as an out-patient. The traditional method of harvesting the bone marrow takes place under general anaesthetic and lasts about an hour. Needles are inserted into the hip bone at the base of the spine and the bone marrow is extracted.

Mr Mann said: "I opted for the traditional method though I'm not keen on needles. The alternative would have involved sitting in bed for four hours with four tubes in my arms. I had a little bit of back pain but it certainly isn't as uncomfortable as people think. The main thing was tiredness, as the body replaces the bone marrow."

The Anthony Nolan Trust covered all travel expenses and loss of earnings, and made all the arrangements for Mr Mann to travel to London.

The trust receives no funding from the Government or the National Lottery, and more than £13 million per year is needed for the trust to achieve its target of 500,000 volunteer bone marrow donors by the year 2005. All funding is secured from public and corporate donations.

For more information about joining the register, telephone 0151 733 1444.