THE family of leukaemia sufferer Julia hember were on tenterhooks this week, hoping her life-saving bone marrow transplant would finally take place yesterday.

Miss Hember, 32, has undergone a course of chemotherapy and total body irradiation to prepare her for the bone marrow transplant.

Her parents Paul and Mary, who live in Codford, near Warminster, were optimistic the operation would finally go ahead, after months of agonising disappointment.

Miss Hember was diagnosed with the disease last year and has been fighting against illness ever since. After a tissue match and donor were found, the operation was postponed last year because she had pneumonia, and she was still too ill for treatment in January.

This week doctors at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London made preparations for the transplant and Mrs Hember was planning to travel to the capital to support her daughter.

She said: "Julia is strong in herself but she is very, very tired and is suffering from the side effects of her medication.

"We are cautiously optimistic but there is still a long hill to climb. We hope the transplant will finally go ahead and people are praying for her in church and in countries such as Australia, France and America. She is a popular girl and very much loved.

"After the transplant there is a long recovery process. It can take up to three years. We are hoping she will come home for her birthday on April 6 but we don't know if it is possible.

"She will have to remain in hospital for up to six weeks to see how her body reacts. We are not sure about the success rate because few people of Julia's age have had this type of leukaemia."

Miss Hember will not be told the name of the donor who has made the operation possible.