STUDENTS at Brunel University hope to attract more Asian, African and Caribbean volunteers as part of an appeal to find life-saving donors.

The group of first year students at the university, in Kingston Lane, are appealing for their fellow students and members of the local community to register as bone marrow donors at specially organised clinics on campus throughout this week.

They aim to find life-saving matches for the many sufferers of blood cancer and other related illnesses who desperately need a bone marrow transplant in order to survive.

Student leader Saima Alibhai, 19, said: "We hope to make more people aware that it may only be them that can save a life simply by taking a few minutes to register and being a matching bone marrow donor to a patient anywhere around the world."

The process to register is very simple. A small blood sample is taken by a trained phlebotomist. Should a match be found, bone marrow can be transplanted in a simple procedure at a local hospital.

The marrow regenerates within two weeks and donation has no long-term side effects.

Managing director of the university Mr Paul Bowler said: "We are happy to support this worthy cause and proud that our students have taken the initiative to organise this clinic."

He added: "We would encourage other students and the local community to show their support by taking a few minutes out of their day to come down to the clinics and register as potential bone marrow donors."

Because a person's bone marrow type is an inherited characteristic, the chance of finding a matching donor for a patient is greater if the donor is from the same racial/ethnic background.

Although there are more than 600,000 people registered as potential donors in Britain, less than five per cent are of Asian, African or African Caribbean origin. The event has been supported and run by the registered charities, Find the Time and the Anthony Nolan Trust.