A CAMPAIGN to help pay for life saving treatment for a York boy has been given a boost with the donation of £1,000 from a business.

Five-year-old William Rhodes, of Holgate, has had nearly 80 blood transfusions and undergoes lengthy medical treatments every week for Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA) – a rare condition which means he may become very seriously ill if he doesn’t find a match for a bone marrow transplant before his teenage years.

The Acomb Primary School pupil’s best chance would be if his parents have genetic screening and IVF to have a tissue-matched baby.

Cells from the baby’s umbilical cord could be used to allow a potentially life saving bone marrow transplant for William.

The fundraising campaign to pay for the treatment has now been boosted with the donation of £1000 from Huntington-based Trustmarque Solutions Limited, which has donated the proceeds of its annual Christmas raffle to the William Rhodes Appeal.

Sara Smith, a team member at Trustmarque, who nominated the charity, said: “I am delighted to be able to give so much to a cause that would touch anyone’s heart.”

Previous charity events by the business have raised more than £9,000 for York Against Cancer.

Over the last few years well-wishers have raised many thousands of pounds to allow the treatment for William.

His parents have been told the chances of them having a healthy baby which is also a match for William are very slim due to his genetic make-up Two rounds of IVF and genetic testing have failed for William’s parents but they say they remain hopeful of trying IVF again in the future.

His mum, Caroline, said: “It was really kind of them to consider helping. We were really pleased and grateful.”