Rush to help little Margot Martini

And the support for Margot Martini, who is battling a rare form of leukaemia, just keeps on coming as people across the country join the campaign to save her life.

Almost 10,000 people signed up to a donor appeal for the 17-month-old just last weekend.

Margot's family today said they were overwhelmed by the response to the appeal to find her a stem cell match.

More than 40,000 people have now registered with charity Delete Blood Cancer to see if they could help Margot by requesting swabbing packs.

Thousands more have seen her appeal on social media, while up to 1,000 people are expected at a swabbing day being held in Wolverhampton later this month.

Margot's mother Vicki, aged 38, originally from Essington, said there has been great support in the West Midlands. Mrs Martini recounted the devastating moment Margot was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia aged just 14 months. She said: "I just had a sixth sense that something was wrong.

"I took her to the doctors at 2pm one day and by 2am, I had got a child with leukaemia who was in an induced coma. It was just completely devastating.

"But you can't let it take hold of you because you see your child being so strong and fighting and you have to fight alongside them."

Margot was in an induced coma for around 11 days and then started chemotherapy. She has now finished her third round of chemotherapy at Great Ormond Street Hospital, near to where the family lives in Roehampton, South London.

Doctors have told the family that Margot's best chance of long-term remission is a stem cell donation, otherwise known as a bone marrow transplant. "My husband Yaser and I were tested and then our sons Oscar and Rufus but unfortunately none of us are a match," added Mrs Martini, a former PA. "We knew it wasn't going to be a simple task. But hopefully there is a match out there for Margot and we can find it."

Mrs Martini said Margot was the little girl she and Yaser had always dreamed of. "She's always smiling," she said. "She loves playing with her tea set so she goes round to all the nurses serving them tea." Margot is now at home, where she is enjoying playing with her brothers and making the most of the new toys she received for Christmas.

The family has taken its appeal far and wide to find an ideal match for Margot, even making pleas as far afield as Australia. But Mrs Martini stressed it was not just for Margot. "People may be able to help others who need transplants too," she said. "You never know when someone in your family may need one." A Swab for Margot day is being held at the Mount Hotel, in Tettenhall Wood, on February 23.

People can turn up and, if they are eligible, can have a swab taken from their cheek to see if they are a match. It is being organised by Margot's aunt Charlotte Hathaway, of Tettenhall. The 37-year-old said: "It will only take a matter of minutes but it could make a huge difference to Margot."

She said the response from the public had been overwhelming. "It has been absolutely fantastic," she said. "There has been a great response from strangers who don't even know us but want to help out. It really restores your faith in human nature." The swabbing day will also include a raffle to raise money for Delete Blood Cancer UK, while pink campaign bracelets and hair bows will be on offer in return for a donation.

Deidra Taylor, director of donor relations at Delete Blood Cancer UK, said: "We are so pleased with this response for Margot and her family and their network of friends, who have all worked tirelessly for weeks in raising awareness. In doing so they have actively mobilised so many people nationwide to express their interest in getting registered as a potential life-saver for Margot and for the other patients out there, who just like her, also desperately need a stem cell donor." To find out more, visit www.deletebloodcancer.org.uk