The parents of an eight-year-old in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant have hit out at the National Blood Service for its "insensitivity".

Carol and Dean Maddocks, of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, whose daughter Alice needs a bone marrow transplant, were upset when a letter from the National Blood Service (NBS) criticised their plans to highlight the shortage of donors.

They had written to say they believed many people were unaware one of the two UK bone marrow donor registers was held by the NBS.

But the NBS accused the couple of being "unfair to staff" at the service.

Alice suffers from a rare form of severe aplastic anaemia, and has reduced levels of red and white blood cells.

When I finished reading the letter I just burst into tears Carol Maddocks

While she waits for a match she has to visit the hospital for treatment every week.

The couple wrote to the NBS to say they were concerned not enough efforts were being made to find donors

Tears

Mrs Maddocks, 34, burst into tears when she read the reply from the NBS.

She told the BBC: "It's a constant strain, constantly there in your mind, all the time, 24-7.

"Are we going to find a donor for Alice? Where will our lives be tomorrow."

Mr Maddocks said: "We're very annoyed, we're very frustrated.

"To put in a letter the fact that it's putting pressure on their staff and the staff have to cancel holidays to process it and that they won't let it happen again - well that's fine, but that's an internal problem for the blood service to sort out."

Professor Marcela Controras, a director of the NBS, said launching a campaign would have a detrimental effect on staff.

She wrote: "During the last appeal, members of staff worked considerable hours of overtime and some chose to cancel their family holidays in order to cope with the unprecedented high workload.

"In the NBS, through the British Bone Marrow Registry, we do everything we can, within our means, to enlarge the International Bone Marrow Registry, but I consider it unfair to continue to ask our expert staff to do overtime every time there is an appeal.

Professor Controras added: "I can only imagine your sense of frustration and your wish to do everything within your means to help Alice.

"On the other hand, even if we increased the number of donors registered by 100% next year, this would be a drop in the ocean when we consider the 8.8 million donors registered world-wide,"

Apology

A spokesman for the National Blood Service said he could "only apologise" if the letter had caused offence.

He said the NBS was this week introducing the first of �1.5m of equipment which would enable DNA to be analysed automatically rather than manually.

"What Professor Controras was trying to get across is that there are finite resources - which we are building on," he said.

But Carol, who works for the social services department in Kirklees, said the NBS had treated them very badly.

"All the way through we have tried to work with them, given them ideas, where the service falls down, but we are yet again another family having to campaign to save the life of our child.

"They were very patronising and yet again said they knew what we were going through with a child seriously ill, but they don't.

"They thought they were doing everything needed to raise the profile of Bone Marrow Register.

"It's diabolical, I just can't believe it. I can't believe that something official that is government run can treat people like us in the way that they have done. "

Shadow health secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "It is outrageous to take the attitude that those who provide healthcare are more important than those who receive it, which appears to be the case here."