A terminally-ill journalist lobbying for better education on bone marrow donation yesterday said the Prime Minister had suggested making a celebrity video to raise awareness.

Adrian Sudbury, who has been told he only has weeks to live, held a 20-minute meeting with Gordon Brown to press his case for information on donation to be made part of the national curriculum.

The 26-year-old, from Sheffield, has already met Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Schools Secretary Ed Balls to discuss the issue. And he said his meeting with Mr Brown had been "productive".

"He really wanted to listen to what I had to say," Mr Sudbury said.

"He didn't commit to anything. He did say he was looking into ways of raising awareness about donation already."

Mr Sudbury added: "He did suggest maybe some kind of video using celebrities and said Alan Johnson was looking into whether there was money available for raising awareness."

The Huddersfield Daily Examiner journalist was diagnosed with leukaemia 18 months ago and has been documenting his experiences since then in an online blog. Yesterday, Mr Brown told Mr Sudbury he had read his account, and said he thought he was brave.

"He did ask about my illness, and was full of praise for what I'm trying to achieve. He said I was brave and I told him I had just got ill and written about it. He was really genuine."

Mr Sudbury admitted he "can't take the campaign much higher than this", but added he is determined to continue raising the issue.

"I'll keep on with it. I'm not asking too much, just a 30 or 40-minute lesson on how to donate when kids are 17 or 18.

"My time's quite short now but I'm hoping all my friends around the country can continue the fight once I'm gone."

Mr Sudbury had said earlier: "The big problem in our country with bone marrow donation is that it's very poorly understood. It's believed to be a horrific procedure. But the reality is very different to that. In Germany, they have one of the best registers in the world.

"They educate students who are 18 years old on why it is important to donate blood, bone marrow and organs.

"Why can't we do that here?"

He said Mr Johnson and Mr Balls had been "very receptive" to his campaign, with the Health Secretary telling him of a pilot scheme informing 14 and 15-year-olds about donation.

Mr Balls had told him citizenship was already taught in schools, and he had told the minister that a lesson in donating could be incorporated into that.

Alex Frazier, spokeswoman for the Anthony Nolan Trust, said: "It's a fantastic and crucial achievement that Adrian has enlisted the support of Gordon Brown, Alan Johnson and Ed Balls.

"Adrian has shown great courage throughout his illness, and this campaign epitomises Adrian's fighting spirit and determination to help others have a chance of life."

* http://baldyblog.freshblogs.co.uk/