Journalist Adrian Sudbury, from High Green, had been battling two forms of leukaemia for 18 months but despite intensive treatment at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital doctors have been unable to halt the disease.

A recent bone test showed it had returned and the 26-year-old was told the devastating news that he may have just weeks left to live.

Adrian, a digital reporter on the Huddersfield Examiner, was in London last night where he hoped to meet Ed Balls, minister for Schools and Families and Health Minister Alan Johnson to discuss putting bone marrow and organ donation on the sixth form curriculum to raise the profile of donation among teenagers and potentially add more people to the donor registers.

Click here to support The Star's Gift of Life campaign and sign up to be a donor

Adrian, who is the only person in the world known to have contracted two distinctive forms of leukaemia, said since he became ill 18 months ago, he has become all too aware of just how desperate the need is for people to sign up as donors to help others.

He said: "There are 16,000 people in need of a bone marrow transplant on the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Register. And 16,000 people will die without a match."

After falling ill and being unable to find a bone marrow match in his family, Adrian received bone marrow from a 30 year old German woman. He was treated at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital but after 18 months the treatment stopped being effective. Adrian, who has chronicled his battle with illness on his award-winning internet diary Baldy's Blog, says he is mentally prepared for only having a short time left to live and wants to devote his remaining time to raising the profile of bone marrow donation.

He said: "I have weeks or months to live and the last decent thing I can do is to raise awareness through the media."

He hopes that if the Government will take on board his idea teach bone marrow and organ donation awareness in schools, it would become a lasting legacy which would offer a chance to others in his position.

Adrian is backing The Star's Gift of Life campaign, which aims to add 25,000 names to the organ donor register by August, when the 31st Westfield Health UK Transplant Games take place in Sheffield.

If successful it would mean many more people in desperate need of new heart, lungs, livers and kidneys would have a second chance of life by receiving a donor organ.

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