Brother says it's 'pure relief' as rare stem cell match found for Lara Casalotti

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Lara and her family
Image caption,

Lara (left) and her family

The family of a 24-year-old student with leukaemia says they are so lucky to have found a stem cell match.

Lara Casalotti, from Hampstead in north London, has Italian and Thai heritage and was told that she had a "needle in a haystack" search for a donor.

That's because only 3% of stem cell donors are mixed race, but one has been found after a worldwide online campaign.

Her brother Seb told Newsbeat the news was "amazing to hear".

Lara revealed the news of a donor match in a video., external

"My mum told me over the phone and I just remember just a feeling of relief.

"I always hoped that we would and had faith in donor registry that there would be someone, but knowing the statistics about mixed race people I'd always been left with a worrying doubt."

Lara, who is studying for a Masters in global migration at University College London, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in December during a trip to Thailand.

She was told her best hope of a cure was a stem cell transplant so her family launched the #Match4Lara appeal, working with donor registries in the UK, Thailand, America and Italy - such as Anthony Nolan, external.

It got high-profile backing.

Stephen Fry tweeted his support for the campaign., external

Since finding out she has a match Lara has been speaking from her hospital bed.

"These past months have been a whirlwind but I am so thankful a donor with a genetic match has now been found.

"Thanks to everyone's immense support, I have always stayed hopeful that I would find one, but I realise how lucky I have been.

"I want to keep urging people to sign up to the donor registries so that everyone can have a chance of finding their match."

Lara's mum Supanya said: "I feel pure relief as we knew that the odds were stacked against Lara.

"Whoever the donor is, they will never, ever know how grateful I am."

However she admits they are remaining cautious.

"The transplant is still a few weeks away and we know we have a long road ahead.

"Knowing there is a good match for Lara is a weight off our shoulders that we desperately needed."

Image caption,

Lara and her brother in hospital

Lara's brother told Newsbeat that other families need the same help that his got.

"What is important to remember is that they only found one match.

"It's just important to stress that there are still others out there that haven't been quite as lucky."

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