I take umbrage to the word selfish. The people who know me best, know that calling me selfish mid-argument is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. My main gripe is this: because one party is not getting their way, the other party invariably becomes the self-obsessed egocentric.

I’ll be blunt, sometimes you have to put your own interests first. And if that’s a crime, well, I plead guilty.

But the main reason that being called selfish gets my goat is because I genuinely have a social conscience and feel that where I can do my bit, I should.

I’m the proud owner of a donor card and have given my permission for any part of my body to be used, in the event of my untimely death, to give someone else a shot at living. Just like money and riches, you can’t take them with you when you go.

And as a mixed race woman, my organs happen to be pretty useful and very much in demand. It’s the same reason I feel a duty to give blood as I’m O-negative, the lowest common denominator of blood types, meaning my blood can be given to a large majority of the population.

And, hey, if you’re looking for bone marrow stick a needle in me — I’m yours.

But for a long time I’ve been considering making an even bigger committment. I plan to adopt a child.

I don’t want to go down the celebrity route and adopt a child from a war-torn country because a little closer to home we have a crisis of our own.

African and Caribbean adopters, like African and Caribbean donors, are in short supply.

The majority of children on the adoption register in Haringey are either black or mixed race. The council has now started a campaign to encourage the black community to consider adoption and I really hope it gets a response.

The main reasons for the lack of interest is that some people don’t feel they are eligible to adopt. But it’s now legal for single adults to adopt as well as married or unmarried couples, whether they own their own home or rent, and irrespective of their sexuality.

Another reason is that it’s not the "done thing" in African or Caribbean cultures, which to me is complete rubbish because unofficial adoptions happen all the time and all adults are generally referred to as auntie, uncle or cousin, whether you are blood relatives or not.

I think the real reason is that some people simply do not want to raise a child that is not their own. Maybe it’s just me, but I think that’s a little selfish when there are healthy children in desperate need of a loving family. Either you want to be a parent, or you don’t, what difference does it make if it’s your own flesh and blood?

I admit, in moments of vanity, I have fun imagining a child in my own image (and obviously that of my other half) but when I think about what attracts me to parenthood how my child will look is the furthest thing from my mind.

Without sounding like Michael "Peter Pan" Jackson, I just love children and I want to be able to give a child the kind of happy childhood I enjoyed. Like having someone root for you on sports day and saying you’re a winner even if you came second place — and actually meaning it.

So I would urge anyone who wants to be a parent, to consider having a child who already needs one.