Boy overcomes phobia to help sister

7 November 2009 01:11pm

A nine-year-old boy has overcome his phobia of needles to give his older sister a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

Jack Hutchinson has been singing Help! by The Beatles to get him through the blood tests in preparation for next month's operation to help 13-year-old Shannon.

The teenager first became ill last year and, while her parents initially feared meningitis, she was eventually diagnosed with rare aplastic anaemia.

The condition means Shannon's bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells, leaving her anaemic and vulnerable to severe infections.

She was warned that without a transplant she could have just six months to live.

Parents Tony and Georgina Hutchinson, of Ely, Cardiff, were desperate to find a donor until Jack, who had resisted having tests to see if he was a match because of his phobia, woke up one morning and volunteered.

Mr Hutchinson said: "He had a bad experience when he was four and had his adenoids out and they couldn't get anywhere near him with a needle.

"He's got a real phobia, he would sweat, shake and cry. It's hard enough for an adult to overcome a phobia so for a nine-year-old boy it's amazing.

"I think he overheard me and my wife having a conversation about having no luck getting a donor, because he came into the room and asked me if Shannon was going to die.

"The next morning he woke up and said he wanted to do it."

© The Press Association