A MAN who underwent a life-saving bone marrow transplant has celebrated something which many people see as a chore -- going back to work!

And while it may take five years before doctors confirm he is clear of the killer cancer leukaemia which has blighted his life since 1997, getting back on the payroll is the clearest sign yet that Mick Baines is getting better.

The former Great Harwood policeman and Church security guard has landed himself a job at a supermarket in Blackburn -- and he is so happy to be back at work that shoppers can always be guaranteed service with a smile!

Mick, aged 42, of Bolton Road, Abbey Village, was first diagnosed with leukaemia in 1997, and repeated courses of chemotherapy meant he had to give up his job working at Express Gifts in Church.

For the next five years he continued to fight against the disease, knowing his only hope of recovery was finding a matching bone marrow donor. Intensive bouts of chemotherapy had failed to beat off the killer cancer.

The bone marrow helps regulate the number of white blood cells in the body. Mick's body had produced too many.

A match was finally found -- a one in a million chance -- for Mick late in 2000 after the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust tracked down a 26-year-old woman in Chicago who had agreed to become a donor.

The bone marrow was flown to Britain, and injected into Mick at the Christie Hospital, Manchester. Mick spent several weeks in isolation before finally being allowed home.

However, he was confined to his home for nearly four months because the transplant had weakened his immune system to the point where even a cold could prove fatal.

Mick said: "I've had a couple of setbacks but everything is going fine now, to the point where I have been able to go back to work.

"I work 13 hours a week on the home and leisure section at Asda. They have been great. They asked me how many hours I wanted to work and when was best for me. I am really enjoying it.

"I consider myself doubly lucky now because I am getting better. I still go back to Christie and I realise how lucky I am when I find out that other people I knew have since died."

Mick devoted much of his time off work to raising money for the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust.

Under donor rules, the woman who gave Mick some of her bone marrow has the right to remain anonymous.

However, after three years, Mick is allowed to ask to meet her.

He said: "She sent me a note with the marrow wishing me luck and I sent her a Christmas card last year.

"I would like to meet her and say thanks but I am not getting my hopes up."