IN the end, her body could only stand so much.
After battling leukaemia for more than 10 years, Johanna MacVicar, from Renfrewshire, has lost her fight for life.
Miss MacVicar, 27, captured the hearts and minds of thousands as she fought a courageous battle to raise awareness of the Anthony Nolan Trust leukaemia charity.
In doing so, she successfully persuaded stars such as Robbie Williams, the pop star, to join the bone marrow donor register.
At 9pm on Tuesday, she died peacefully at home in Bishopton in the arms of her family, it was revealed yesterday. The Anthony Nolan Trust expressed its sadness and said her work had helped to save hundreds of lives.
Miss MacVicar was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia at the age of 16.
Her family and friends said she was in remission from the disease and that it was her lung disease that finally killed her.
Angela MacVicar, Johanna's mother, said her daughter had fought bravely to publicise the Anthony Nolan Trust, which manages and recruits donors to the UK's most successful bone marrow register.
She said: "Lives have been saved through Johanna's plight and it would be her dearest wish for this support to continue. Johanna touched the hearts of everyone she met and her proud family would like to thank those who battled with her. She will remain forever in our hearts."
The trust also carries out vital research which leads to improvements in the effectiveness and safety of bone marrow transplants.
In 1995, Miss MacVicar underwent an unsuccessful transplant and had to endure years of daily injections of the drug interferon.
Lindsay MacCallum, a close friend and area appeals manager for the trust, said Miss MacVicar had never given up hope of finding a suitable bone marrow donor.
She said: "We searched for years and years throughout registers the world over, but there was never a match for her bone marrow. But still, she never gave up."
Despite her illness, she travelled widely and campaigned for young men to join the trust's bone marrow register.
She first met Robbie Williams at a concert in Glasgow in 2000 when he offered to help the trust. The pair formed a close friendship and Williams helped launch a campaign at Loch Lomond in 2001 urging more donors to come forward.
Dougray Scott, the Scots actor, is another who expressed his admiration for Miss MacVicar.
When the actor was researching the film Ripley's Game, in which he plays an English picture framer dying of leukaemia, she advised him how to portray the character.
She even stunned guests at the Scottish Film Awards in Glasgow by turning up on his arm as his guest.
She told the Evening Times at the time: "I explained exactly what was involved and what he could and couldn't do.
"He kept phoning me from the set asking if his character would be able to jump off bikes a month after the operation and asking if he was portraying a transplant patient correctly.
"There were quite a few changes, and quite a few phone calls to get it right."
Scott, who is currently filming in Morocco, said Miss MacVicar was one of the "bravest" people he knew.
He said: "I was really saddened by the news of Johanna's death. She was one of the bravest people I have ever met and my heart goes out to her family at this very difficult time for them. She will never be forgotten."
In the last weeks of her life, she had been cared for by her mother and Brodie, Gemma and Kendal, her sisters.
Currently 7000 patients in the UK and throughout the world are looking to find a suitable bone marrow donor.
There are not enough donors registered, the trust said last night.
A spokesman for the trust added: "She has raised awareness of the fact that there is a way for people to give a precious gift of life and be a bone marrow donor.
"Many now realise how comparatively easy it is to help patients with leukaemia.
Unfortunately, her struggle was lost, but through her the battle will be won for others."
For more information, call the Anthony Nolan Trust's hotline on 0901 88 22 234 or go to www. anthonynolan. org. uk.
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