A Sanderstead family is desperately trying to find a bone marrow donor to save a dying mother.

They are battling a lack of Asian blood and organ donors to help Hardish Bakshi.

The 52-year-old was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in July this year and recently underwent a third round of gruelling chemotherapy which failed to have an effect.

Last Tuesday Hardish's son Pavan, 29, organised a blood donor session at the Nanak Community Centre in Croydon to find a suitable bone marrow match from the Indian and south Asian community.

"It was amazing," he said, "We had people from every religion and creed and literally everybody was overwhelmed."

Pavan said 84 people were tested on the day and up to 200 people - from young people to grandparents - filled out forms.

"People we didn't know turned up. Some had just read the Croydon Guardian and wanted to come along. We had lots of well-wishers and it just goes to show that you can mobilise people for a good cause - you just have to educate them."

It will be up to eight weeks before the family find out whether a suitable match has been found for their mother.

In the meantime Pavan, who has returned from New York to care for Hardish, with his sisters Tavneet and Sukheev has been looking elsewhere for suitable treatment.

He explained: "We're trying to see what other trials are out there. I'm in India now to see if we can do anything else with regards to alternative therapies. Even if it doesn't help my family, it will doubtless help others."

There is a shortage of blood donors from ethnic minority communities and Pavan wants that to change.

A spokesperson for the Anthony Nolan Trust - a bone marrow donor register - said: "We have a shortage of all donors from all backgrounds. Less than three per cent of our donors are Asian so we urgently need people to come forward."

In 1993, Croydon couple Orin Lewis and Beverley De-Gale set up the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) after their son Daniel DeGale was diagnosed with leukaemia.

They formed the charity to help find a suitable donor for Daniel because, historically, there had been a shortage of black bone marrow donors.

Pavan believes education will help the fight for more donors from ethnic minorities. He added: "Cancer doesn't just affect white people - it doesn't matter what colour or creed you are.

"We wouldn't have been interested in donating if this hadn't happened to us. There are all these blood banks all over the world - although in India there isn't one - and I get the feeling they are not connected. One of my goals is to get people to talk and to be connected.

"The family are all strong and we're just searching and trying to find the right treatment for her."

The Anthony Nolan Trust said there are 7,000 patients waiting for transplants and a donor coming forward could be the difference between life and death.

A spokesman for the charity added: "Donors have to be aged 18-40 to register. Call 020 7284 1234 to find out how you can save the life of someone like Hardish."

If you think you can help Pavan, call him on 020 7516 6317 or 001 6465123326 or email pbakshi@bear.com.

For more information about ACLT go to aclt.org.