Can you be a hero for Sunderland youngster Chloe?

Seven-year-old Chloe Gray was born with a rare blood disorder called Diamond Blackfan Anaemia, which means her body doesn’t produce red blood cells and she needs regular blood transfusions to stay alive.

Chloe, from Silksworth, urgently needs a bone marrow transplant, but a matching donor has not yet been found.

Her family have launched an urgent campaign called ‘A Hero For Chloe’ backed by the Sunderland Echo and The Bradley Lowery Foundation, to get people to sign up to the DKMS register to see if they could be a potential match.

And now her parents Francesca and Craig Bowser, are gearing up to hold a charity night to raise funds for charity DBA UK which aims to deliver support and research to help people in the UK with Chloe’s condition.

Tickets have sold out for the charity night which will be held in at Houghton Comrades Club on Saturday, July, 7, but Chloe’s family are appealing for raffle and auction prizes to raise funds for the charity.

Francesca, 27, said: “We are looking for some prizes that we could auction off and smaller ones for our raffle.

“We are hoping to get things like vouchers, hampers and free passes and we are hoping to do an auction on the night to raise more money, so we are looking for some bigger prizes like signed merchandise and hotel stays.

“DBA UK relies on funding for all of their research into treatments.”

As The Echo backs Chloe’s campaign we are calling on businesses, individuals and our readers from across Wearside, to sign up to a donor register to see if they could be the one that could save little Chloe.

So far around 1,500 people have signed up to see if they could be a lifesaving donor for Chloe.

Francesca, who is also mum to Millie Gray, 11, said: “Chloe is doing good at the moment.

“We will be seeing her consultant again in July to see if there has been any change on the register looking for a match.

“As a family we really appreciate the continued support we have received from everybody since we started the #aheroforchloe campaign.

“It helps us during the really hard times to know that the support is there and everyone is rallying together to help our girl.

“We want to now give back and help all the other people like Chloe who have Diamond Blackfan Anemia by raising as much money as possible to support vital research into better treatments and hopefully one day even a cure.

“Any donation for our fundraising is hugely appreciated.”

Chloe, a pupil at Plains Farm Primary School, needs a 10/10 match for the best chance of survival, but her family have made the tough decision to accept a 9/10 match because of the race against time. But such a transplant comes with increased risk.

People in the UK aged between 17 and 55 can sign up to the DMKS stem cell register by taking a swab of the inside of their cheeks and sending it off to see if they are a match to be donor.

To join the register, visit www.dkms.org.uk to check whether you are eligible.

If so, register your details and you will be sent a swab kit in the post.

Simply swab the inside of your cheek and send the kit back. Once it has been received, you will be on the register.

Anyone who can donate to the charity night is asked to email [email protected] or visit the Chloe’s DBA fight #aheroforchloe Facebook page.

For more details on the charity visit: diamondblackfan.org.uk