The case of Nati, who is 45 years old, is one of those that touches the heart and causes great pain. She welcomed us to her isolated room at the Joan XXIII Hospital in Tarragon with a smile on her face. Three days earlier she had been admitted to the hospital to start her treatment.

We asked her about her plans for the future and she said: "well, I don't know, if you had asked me last week...". She is disorientated and still hasn't grasped 100% the idea that she has relapsed.

In April of 2008 she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. In September of last year she underwent a bone marrow transplant and 15 days ago she was enjoying the swimming pool and her vegetable garden "as good as new".

She thought that everything was going well, that she had been reborn but 3 days ago she was told the bad news: the leukaemia had returned. Now she has to start again and she will probably have to undergo an allergenic transplant. She is scared and she has all the right in the world to be scared because her situation, like all others, is not fair. Luckily with the help of her husband and her sons, who are 15 and 17 years old, they are taking the situation very well.

By the end of our short conversation Nati appeared more relaxed and more upbeat when we explained that if, as is commonly the case, her family is not compatible, then the José Carreras Leukaemia Foundation will initiate a global search for an unrelated donor at the request of her doctors.

Become a member of the cure for leukaemia and other haematological malignancies, HERE

Find out more about bone marrow donation, HERE