A woman?s search for a donor for her leukaemia-stricken mother has sparked a huge response from big-hearted Bermudians.

As many as 79 people offered to be tested this weekend to see if they are a match for a stem-cell transplant that Diane Dismont desperately needs.

Ms Dismont?s plight was highlighted in a article on Monday by her daughter, Kim Dismont Robinson.

Included with the story was a haunting poem by Ms Dismont Robinson, a former reporter. It moved one person so much they could not read the rest of the article.

Doctors say only one transplant will cure Ms Dismont. Matching donors, however, are rare.

?The donor drive is scheduled for this Saturday for 8 a.m - 12 p.m but that is not enough time because we have 79 people signed up already,? said Rhonda Dismont-Seaton, Diane Dismont?s sister.

?About ten people out of the 79 we actually know, which is amazing.?

Diane Dismont told : ?One girl that I went to Berkley Institute with called me and said she was praying for me.

?Kim had over 20 e-mails in response to her story. It has been a terrific response ? I?m quite surprised by it.?

Tomorrow the family plans on speaking with the hospital about scheduling more hours or an additional day to conduct testing for the overwhelming numbers of people who offered. ?Two nurses are coming to do the testing on their day off,? said Ms Dismont-Seaton. The leukaemia that Ms Dismont suffers from is called chronic myeloid leukaemia(CML) and is quite rare. She is believed to be the only person in Bermuda with this type of leukaemia.