A DESPERATE couple are pleading for help to have a baby after their hopes of starting a family were devastated by cancer.

Tracey Dudley, 27, nearly died from leukaemia as a child and has had a succession of medical problems since, leaving her unable to produce her own eggs.

She and her builder husband Darren, 33, are desperate to find a suitable egg donor and have now turned to News Shopper readers for help.

Mrs Dudley, of Farringdon Avenue, Petts Wood, said: "I was absolutely devastated when I realised I was unable to have a child.

"Me and Darren are so desperate to have children because we are so much in love and it would make our lives complete."

The couple say they have secured funding for treatment from Bromley Primary Care Trust because of their special circumstances but because of a nationwide shortage of eggs many private clinics will only treat women with willing donors.

Mrs Dudley, a housewife, said: "We live in hope a donor can help us because it would mean the world to us to start a family.

"I've had so many problems over the years that everything good that happens is a massive bonus. To have a baby of our own would make us complete."

She added: "I am pleading with any News Shopper readers out there who think they can help me to please come forward."

Mrs Dudley needs a donor who is free of the common cytomegalovirus (CMV) because she does not have the infection.

CMV is a generally harmless herpes virus that many people carry, often without showing any symptoms. But the virus can cause much more serious problems for people with weakened immune systems, like Mrs Dudley, or unborn children.

A donor would have to be willing to take a simple blood test to ensure she did not have the infection.

If you can help the Dudleys, call 01689 885705.