THE family of a York schoolboy with a rare illness said they were delighted to learn that a city business is donating £10,000 in his honour.

William Rhodes, 10, undergoes lifesaving blood transfusions every three weeks to cope with the extremely rare disorder, Diamond Blackfan Anaemia, which means his bone marrow doesn’t make any red blood cells.

The Poppleton Road Primary School pupil is one of only 2000 people with the disorder around the world. The family has been supported by the charity DBA UK.

So when William’s great uncle Dave Stone made an application to his employer Pavers for a grant to support the charity, he was delighted to hear the Pavers Foundation had decided to give £10,000.

Caroline Rhodes, William’s mum, said: “It was fantastic.

“I was in shock and I think Dave was quite emotional because he wasn’t expecting it.

“DBA UK have always supported us. It’s such a rare illness... we hope that one day a cure will be found for it.”

Leisa Batkin, the chair of DBA UK, said: “On hearing that the Pavers Foundation would be donating a huge £10,000 to our charity we were delighted.

“This money will secure some time and resources for our medical team and support our laboratories.

“In fact, this week, because of these funds we have been able to commit to offering a bridging grant to a scientist who was closing their facilities due to lack of funds.

“We are so grateful for the support the Rhodes family continue to offer and I would like to personally thank ‘Uncle Dave’ and his colleagues for this wonderful donation.”

DBA is a potentially life-threatening condition characterised by an inability to produce red blood cells which transport oxygen around the body.

William has regular blood transfusions to provide red blood cells but these can lead to too much iron in the body which can be fatal if not managed properly.

Last month William celebrated his 10th birthday - a huge milestone for the family which said they came so close to losing him when he was a baby.

l The family is keen to hear from anyone else who would like to support DBA UK.

They can be contacted by emailing crhodes78@hotmail.co.uk