COURAGEOUS ten-year-old Kate Stobbs will tomorrow make a life-saving gift of bone marrow to her older sister, Kimberley.

Kimberley, 14, of Burnhope, near Consett, County Durham, was diagnosed with leukaemia in August last year.

A course of drugs, radiotherapy and chemotherapy has helped her to fight the disease, but she needs a bone marrow transplant if her future is to be secured.

Consultants at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle took blood from her parents, Frank and Marie, as well as Kate and found that Kate was the best match.

"There were about 1,200 registered donors who matched Kimberley, but the doctors knew almost straight away that Kate was the one," said Mr Stobbs.

"Her marrow is stronger and healthier and it will be a better match for Kimberley, because they are siblings."

Tomorrow, surgeons at Newcastle General Hospital will remove bone marrow from Kate's hips to give to Kimberley.

Mr Stobbs said: "We can't wait to get it over and done, then we can get on with our lives.

"You never think it is going to happen to your kid and when it does, you just don't know what to do.

"It is a horrible experience. You cannot explain how hard it hits you.

"You spend all your time going over and over it in your head, wondering where this came from and how and why it has happened to your little girl."

The family were in Scotland on holiday when Kimberley fell ill last year, complaining of headaches, sickness and feeling lethargic. Concerns grew as she got more poorly.

"She was so sick that she couldn't even stand up," he said.

"I had to drive her right up to the hospital doors. They took her in, did some tests and within three hours, we knew."

After a blood test at Shotley Bridge Hospital, near Consett, Kimberley was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

The most common form of the disease, it accounts for 85 per cent of cases in children.

About 80 per cent are cured, but it can be a long process and there are side effects from the treatment. "Kimberley had one of the worst starts to the treatment that the doctors had seen," said Mr Stobbs.

"She reacted badly to one of the drugs and developed a massive blood clot on her head.

"She was in real pain for about a month - they had to put her on morphine."

She has since responded well to the treatment and will have her last dose of chemotherapy today. She said she was looking forward to growing back her hair, and is making do in the meantime with a wig.

Family, friends and school colleagues have all rallied round to support the youngster. Pupils at Greencroft School, Annfield Plain, where Kimberley was a pupil before she fell ill, raised cash through a non-uniform day.

Staff at Asda in Stanley held fundraising events for leukaemia charities and gave Kimberley a DVD player.

"The family have been absolutely great and the support we have had from the village has been fantastic," said Mr Stobbs.

"We hope this operation will be the end of it, apart from check-ups. The consultant expects Kimberley to be back at school three months after the transplant."