WHEN young mum Louise Hughes decided to join the bone marrow register, little did she realise that she would soon be whisked to London to save a woman's life -- in America.

She is now recovering at her Tyldesley home after the delicate operation to remove her bone marrow to save a woman who lives thousands of miles away -- and who she will probably never even meet.

The 31-year-old Farnworth bank worker decided to join the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Register after reading about the plight of a local youngster, Elizabeth Morris, who was searching for a donor.

Louise said: "I have a daughter myself and I can appreciate the desperation of the parents to find a cure for their child.

"I was only too pleased to give a blood sample and to join the register, but didn't expect it to go any further."

As reported in the BEN, leukaemia sufferer Elizabeth, aged five, of Ringley near Kearsley, is now waiting for a transplant after doctors successfully tracked down a donor.

Louise was surprised when the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust rang her up to say that she had to undergo further tests because her bone marrow appeared to match a woman's DNA make-up in the United States.

All arrangements were made for Louise to travel with her family to London.

"It was a little bit scary, " Louise explained: "We were really well looked after though and stayed at a hotel around the corner from the London hospital."

The procedure is called a bone marrow "harvest" and Louise had to be given a general anaesthetic -- but it only lasts an hour.

Needles are inserted into the hipbone at the base of the spine and the bone marrow is extracted.

Most donors feel some lower back pain and tiredness for a few weeks after donating -- and Louise was no exception.

She said: "The first week after the harvest was a little uncomfortable, but it was great to have some time off the housekeeping and watch my husband do it instead!

"HSBC, where I work, have been great and allowed me two weeks off while I recover."

For ethical reasons, donors are given little information about the patient who receives their bone marrow. But Louise has asked to be given details of the woman's progress.

Louise said: "All I know is that my bone marrow was for an adult female in America, she would have received the transfusion just hours after the harvest. She will be spending the next few weeks in isolation and I just hope that she is soon on the road to recovery."

Louise is now urging others to follow her example -- although the register has already been swamped by people wanting to give the gift of life to others following the widespread appeal by Elizabeth Morris's family.

Louise said: "If it was someone close to you that needed a transplant, you would do anything you could to help them.

"If you can help someone, somewhere, by joining the register then you should do it.

"I feel priviledged to have been given this opportunity to save someone's life and I would have no hestitation to do it again."

fact-file

The Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow register is the world's largest bone marrow register with 317,000 potential donors.

It also has access to another 154 registers and over eight million donors.

The charity was set up by Shirley Nolan whose son tragically died in 1978 because a bone marrow donor could not be found because there was no register.

Fund-raisers are constantly taking part in local events to make sure that the register continues to save lives.

Donated cash pays for the tissue-type tests which cost £50 each.

To become a donor people must be aged between 18 and 40 and be in good health. Further advice will be given by ringing Ruth Carter on 0151 707 9359.