ONE donor has come forward to help a childless North Yorkshire couple who are desperate to have a baby.

Last month, we reported the heartbreaking story of the Malton couple who are ploughing thousands of pounds into having fertility treatment to give them the baby they dream of.

But time is running out for the pair, aged 48 and 46, and they begged Press readers to help them by volunteering to be egg donors.

A month on, one potential donor has come forward after reading our front page article.

But the wife of the couple, who have asked to remain anonymous, said she was determined not to get her hopes up too soon because of the lengthy process involved in IVF treatment.

"She must be a special woman," she said. "It's not known whether it will go ahead. If not, we'll have to start again. We'll just have to wait and see, and not get our hopes up. There's a national shortage of egg donors around the country."

The couple married five years ago, but their efforts to have a baby naturally failed. It later emerged the wife was undergoing a premature menopause.

But the pair were still determined to pursue their dream of having a child, and began investigating egg donation and IVF.

Several egg donors have come forward, but most were dismissed either because they were not a suitable match or because of other problems.

One match was found, but although her eggs were implanted into the wife at St James' Hospital in Leeds, the procedure failed.

Now the couple fear time is running out for them because the wife has been told by her doctor that, because of her age, she should only have one more cycle of IVF - even though three are normally offered.

They are still desperate to have a child, saying they have "so much love" to give a baby.

Even though another potential donor has now come forward, it is still not known whether she would be a suitable match.

The wife said that, by law, ten weeks had to go by to give donors a chance to change their mind.

"It's so frustrating," she said. "This is our last hope, but we don't want to get obsessed about it. It's just a waiting game."

If you would like to help this Malton couple, you can phone Lesley Forrest, at St James' Hospital, in Leeds, on 0113 206 5387, quoting ref 2306. Donors must be aged between 18 and 35.