THE family of leukaemia sufferer Elizabeth Morris have been "overwhelmed" by the huge response to their blood donor appeal.

Mum and dad, Janet and Jeremy, joined 120 volunteers at St Saviour Primary School, Ringley, to give pints of blood to help save lives.

Nurses from the National Blood Transfusion Service carried out medical assessments on 152 people who turned up between 1.30pm and 7.30pm -- and took blood from 120.

The one-off session at the school was organised to raise awareness of the need for blood to help adults and children with life-threatening conditions.

In the North-west alone, the Transfusion Service needs to collect 1,300 units of blood daily.

Five-year-old Elizabeth, who has suffered with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia since she was 18-months-old, can undergo two blood transfusions a week.

She also needs regular supplies of platelets which help her body fight the risk of severe internal bleeding.

Elizabeth, a pupil at the Ringley school, is still waiting for a bone marrow transplant.

The family, from Stoneclough, were dealt a major blow recently in their search for a bone marrow donor.

Doctors broke the news that Elizabeth's blood tissue is so rare that an exact match will be even harder to find.

Janet said: "Elizabeth is doing really well and is undergoing chemotherapy at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

"She is so well that we feel we have the time to wait for a better match to come along. There is a need for blood in the North-west which was why we wanted to do something not just for leukaemia patients but for everyone with a life-threatening condition.

"We were overwhelmed by the amount of people, some we knew, others we didn't, who came to the session.

"There were 170 people who turned up overall but because of routine medical checks not everyone could donate.

"But out of this number, 60 people registered on the British Bone Marrow Register, too, which was great." The event was organised by close family friend, Diane Sears, and the school's headmaster Mr Roy Smith.

Janet said: "We would like to thank everyone for their help and support. There were many new people at the session who had never given blood before. It was good to see that they wanted to come back so we are hoping to make the sessions a regular event but at a different venue."