The Prime Minister has agreed to overhaul the system of bone marrow donor recruitment following a campaign, backed by the Yorkshire Evening Post, which called for a revamp of the Bone Marrow Register.

Carol and Dean Maddocks, who are searching for a bone marrow donor for their daughter Alice, have led the campaign, together with the paper, for the register to be directly financed by the Government with set targets for getting new donors.

At present the register is funded partly by the National Blood Service and partly by the charity the British Bone Marrow Donor Appeal.

Following an hour long face-to-face meeting with Tony Blair, Mrs Maddocks said the Prime Minister had pledged to make changes – the first time a commitment has come from the Government to fund bone marrow recruitment.

She said: “Mr Blair has committed the Government to improve the funding and awareness of the Registry and has set a target of 40,000 donors each year. This will have a huge impact on all those families waiting for bone marrow transplants.”

Mrs Maddocks also paid tribute to Evening Post readers.

She said: “I showed Mr Blair the 650 coupons from the Yorkshire Evening Post and told him that was an example of the support we have had from the paper and the local community.

“We could not have done it without them and I thank everybody who took the time and trouble to fill in the coupon.”