Kind Cameron Constable Walker, nine, from Tranent, to give his brother Owen a life-saving transplant

Little Owen, aged six, was born with a rare genetic disorder, which is destroying his bone marrow, and needs the transplant to survive.

And doctors have agreed to let perfect match Cameron, who is just nine years old, act as his donor after he travelled to Glasgow to meet specialists.

Owen, who lives with his family in Tranent, has Fanconi’s anaemia, a rare condition which is life-limiting and has no cure. There are fewer than 150 diagnosed cases of the condition in the United Kingdom, with the chances of being born with it as low as one in a million.

Mum Vanessa believes that Owen is the only boy in Scotland with the condition, which is causing bone marrow failure, meaning his body cannot produce blood cells.

The youngster was born five weeks premature and spent his first few months in hospital.

He was born without thumbs and missing a radius bone, early indicators of the condition, but was not diagnosed until he was two years old, when his weight plummeted to just 16lbs and he was rushed into hospital.

Vanessa said: “Owen stopped eating and his weight dropped dramatically; he had to be admitted to hospital where they carried out blood tests.

“The results were sent to specialists at St Guys in London, who confirmed he had Fanconi’s, then we had to have Cameron tested because he had a high chance of also having it, but luckily he doesn’t.”

With no cure, children with Fanconi’s Anaemia are at an extremely high risk of developing cancer, most often leukaemia, and the only option for Owen is a bone marrow transplant.

And with sibling donors considered the best possibility, Cameron was tested and found to be a match.

Vanessa said: “There was a lot of discussion with the specialists to make sure Cameron understood what being his brother’s donor meant and that he was willingly agreeing to it. Once the specialists were convinced he was, we were given the go-ahead.”

Both boys are pupils at Windygoul Primary School, Tranent, although Cameron has had to stay home in preparation for the transplant because it is important they do not catch any infection.

Owen’s condition is so serious that any infection is life-threatening and a simple cold can result in being admitted to hospital.

The family travelled to the Schiehallian unit at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children this week and Owen began the gruelling chemotherapy treatment he needs to destroy his bone marrow and prepare him for the transplant.

Cameron is expected to join his brother on the ward next Thursday (November 10) when he will be taken into theatre and have stem cells from his bone marrow removed to donate to his brother.

It will be a difficult time for the boys’ parents, Vanessa and Kevin. Vanessa said: “It will be very difficult when both boys are in the hospital and, of course, you worry, but we have to try and stay positive for Owen and think about the years ahead and the chance this gives him to no longer have this condition.

“I am very proud of Cameron for doing this for his brother, the whole family are; I am just looking forward to it being done and coming out the other side.”

Owen will face months of treatment following the transplant and may have to remain on anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life.

Without a donor in his family, Owen would have needed to wait for a member of the public who matched him to be found.

Anthony Nolan is a trust which keeps a register of potential donors but relies on volunteers to come forward and sign up to help.

A spokesperson for Anthony Nolan said: “Around 2,000 people in the UK are in need of a stem cell or bone marrow transplant every year. This is usually their last chance of survival.

“Two thirds of UK patients won’t find a matching donor in their families. So they turn to us to find them an unrelated donor.”

Donors who sign up to Anthony Nolan have to be 16 year old and the charity is in need of more young volunteers, particularly young men, aged between 16 and 30 to join their register.

To find out more about Anthony Nolan, or join the register, go to www.anthonynolan.org