A BRAVE dad who helped save the life of a Newent girl was the only Forest representative at a Cardiff ceremony to honour bone marrow donors.

Martin Cooper, 35, from Ruardean Woodside, said: "All I felt was a little discomfort for a few days – far less than they had prepared me for as a matter of fact. I would definitely go through it again if it was a matter of saving lives."

Now Martin and his wife Angela, who have two children Alissa, nine, and Oliver, six, want to make it known how easy it is to put yourself forward and give others a chance of life.

After going to Bristol Children's Hospital for the operation to remove marrow from his pelvic bone and transfer it to the patient, whose name is never disclosed, Martin spent only a few days at home before going back to work in Pontypool.

"We are told however of the patient's progress and in this case the outcome was a complete success," he said.

During the Cardiff lunch and presentations to more than a hundred donors the couple learned that marrow transfers had saved more than a thousand lives, yet few people knew how easy it was to register.

"You can go to any blood donor session and they will put you on a list," he said. "There is a tissue test, costing about £26, which is paid for by a charity, and you are given counselling to learn how able you are to put yourself forward, whatever the consequences. Then your name and tissue type go on a register so that when a donor is needed you can be matched up."

The couple urged other Forest people to try to get on the register and make a real difference to somebody's chances.

"If you jump in a lake to save somebody's life everybody knows about it. It is much harder to publicise being a donor, but the outcome is the same," said Angela.

•For information and advice on being a bone marrow donor call Freephone 0800 371502.