Jesslyn added that even if their effort doesn't find a match for Miss Lim, it can help other leukaemia patients.

She added: "Once the donors are registered in the database, their details will always be there. Twenty years down the road, we maybe able to save someone's life."

The donor drive, which started yesterday and will end on Friday, is being held at the TP Plaza, outside the polytechnic's library, from 10am to 5pm. It is open to the public.

About 50 student volunteers from TP's Community Service Club will also educate their peers about bone marrow donation.

Yesterday, more then 250 people - mostly TP students and staff - signed up to be potential bone marrow donors, more than the 150 people the organisers had expected.

One potential donor was 19-year-old student Salamah Sudarman.

She was initially apprehensive because she is afraid of needles, but she soon found out all that was needed was for a swab to be taken from the inside of her cheek.

Some of her misconceptions about bone marrow transplants were corrected.

For instance, she learnt that bone marrow is extracted from the pelvic bone and not the spine. No bones are broken in the process. The donor does not experience pain as he will be under general anaesthesia.

"I thought, if I can help someone, why not?" - Salamah Sudarman