'Thank you isn't enough for saving my son's life'

"Somebody saved my boy's life and I will never be never be thankful enough for that."

A mother whose teenage son has returned home after undergoing a stem cell transplant to treat his leukaemia has said she won't stop encouraging people to join the donor register.

Leo, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, was the subject of a donor drive which saw more than 700 people sign up - and five people have already been contacted to become potential donors.

"We always said if we got one match, even if it wasn't for Leo, if we've saved one other person's life then that's good enough for us," said his mum Jenna.

"I'm just happy that even if it hadn't fully helped me get a donor, it helped other people," added Leo.

Leo, who turned 17 on Wednesday, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, an aggressive white blood cell cancer.

A suitable stem cell donor was found for him shortly before Christmas, just weeks after the drive in his home town, organised with the blood cancer charity DKMS.

The transplant took place in February, but Leo was only able to return home with Jenna last week.

"Being back home, it's great," he said. "I just feel so much better than in the hospital.

"It's a bit weird because I've been ill for so long... I don't know what it's like to not be like that."

Leo still has months and years of recovery ahead of him - he currently attends hospital three times a week, will be closely monitored for the next few years, and will be under some sort of medical care for the rest of his life.

He still gets exhausted very easily, and occasionally has bouts of nausea.

"I'm so grateful he is home," said Jenna. "But it's also very scary because when I was living in hospital with him, we had nurses and doctors.

"If anything goes wrong, it's just me here, I haven't got a nurse next to me. But I'm really glad he is home."

Leo's dad Warren said his son had coped incredibly well, given his young age.

"There aren't any words to describe how proud I am of him," he said. "You couldn't have blamed him for falling apart, but he didn't.

"We all did, but he didn't."

Warren added he would be forever grateful to his son's anonymous donor.

"Putting themselves on the stem cell register, then sitting plugged into that machine all day - what they've done for my boy is amazing," he said.

"I don't think there are any words I could say to thank them enough."

"Thank you," said Leo. "You've gone through that little bit of suffering to save my life."

"It's amazing, isn't it?" added Jenna. "I want to hug them.

"I can't explain how it feels. They saved my little boy's life - and how can you thank anyone enough for that?"

Just 7% of eligible people in the UK are on the stem cell donor register, and Jenna said her family would continue to raise awareness.

She has also nominated her son for a Pride of Britain award in recognition of what he has endured.

"I don't think he quite realises how big a deal he is, and what he's doing just by sharing his story.

"I think when he's older he'll look back and go, wow, look what I did when I was just 16.

"Look what I got through."

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