London-based Cypriot Michael Kyriacos Efstratiou is appealing to people on the island to find a stem cell donor after he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Efforts to find a compatible stem cell donor since his diagnosis on December 10 have so far proved futile, and it is more likely for him to find a match in his homeland.

Michael was born on March 8, 1960 in Larnaca and his family moved to the UK when he was four.

Since then, he has been living in England.

He five children – Rici, Aemilious, Ellianna, Athena and Zoe – as well as five grandchildren and another on the way.

He is a driving instructor by profession, enjoys the outdoors, fishing and football, and looks forward to his annual holidays in Cyprus.

His diagnosis last month has put his life on hold and the only way for him to survive is to find a compatible donor as soon as possible.

Michael’s Cypriot heritage means there is most likely a compatible donor on the island.

Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML), with which he was diagnosed, is a rare type of blood cancer. In CMML there are too many monocytes in the blood. Monocytes are a type of white blood cell that fights infection.

Michael’s family calls on anyone who is willing to help, to contact the Karaiskakio Foundation (Tel 22 772700, also on Facebook and Instagram) or ask their GP for guidance.