NIKI COTSEN and her husband, Jason, 36, have longed for a baby ever since they married four years ago but after a series of failed fertility treatments the couple felt they had nowhere to turn but to the generosity of the public.

In April, the Harrow Times stepped in to help the couple get one step closer to their dream of bringing home their own child.

Taking the brave decision to appeal for women to donate their eggs, Niki, of Windsor Road, Harrow Weald, was overwhelmed with the response and has since met with a potential donor who lives just minutes from her home.

The desktop publisher is unable to have children as her body only produces one egg per cycle - and after spending £15,000 on three rounds of IVF, egg donation was her only option.

Although the baby will not genetically be Niki's, it will be her husband's and will enable her to experience pregnancy - something she has yearned for since being a teenager.

But long waiting lists and a national shortage of donors meant that without appealing for help, Niki, like thousands of other women, could face a five-year wait.

Taking advice from the National Gamete Donation Trust - a charity raising awareness of the shortage of sperm, egg and embryo donors - Niki was determined to find her own donor and was elated to receive an offer.

She said: "When I heard someone had come forward I was so relived and excited that it had actually worked."

Contacting the Harrow Times the same day the article was published, a 34-year-old woman, who does not wish to be named, said she wanted to help.

The woman, a mother-of-six, said: "I feel for women who can't have their own children and I thought it would be nice to offer Niki that chance.

"A few years ago I saw an advert from a couple who were looking for a donor but due to our different backgrounds they decided they did not want to go ahead.

"I don't want to have any more children and I thought it would be good to help someone who does."

After their first meeting, the two discovered a number of similarities in their backgrounds - as well as appearance - a fact that has strengthened the donor's decision to continue the process.

Niki's appeal was also picked up by a national newspaper and the response from women all over the country was described as "unprecedented".

The 200 or so women that flooded the papers with offers of help have since been referred to the charity and a number of clinics have signed up new donors as a result.

Niki said: "When I was given the details of all the people who had got in touch, I quickly realised I couldn't contact every one.

"I spoke to five women In London, they were all so wonderful and it was very emotional.

"Due to the Harrow Times, the national paper and the charity, we have managed to help reduce waiting lists."

The following months will bring countless blood tests, injections and counselling sessions for Niki and her generous donor yet the future mum's nerves are still apparent.

"I am terrified that it's not going to work but I have to remain positive," Niki said.

"It is hard to know I have had to rely on a perfect stranger to be able to conceive but I am so grateful and I hope other women in my position will be able to find their donors too."

For more information about becoming a donor visit the National Gamete Donation Trust website at www.ngdt.co.uk or telephone 0845 226 9193.