Romsey schoolboy Daniel Hartley was this week "full of beans" and "enjoying being pampered" after having a bone marrow transplant in London.

Daniel, eight, became the second of four brothers to have a transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

His older brother Joshua, 12, underwent a similar operation in June, which has turned out to be a complete success, while brothers Nathan, ten, and Luke, four, are due to have their transplants in the New Year.

All four boys were found last November to be suffering from the rare genetic complaint known as X-linked Lymphoproliferative Syndrome or Duncan's Disease. Matches were found for all four boys after a major nationwide campaign by the Anthony Nolan Trust attracted a huge response natiowide and particularly in Romsey.

Transplants are the family's only hope of a cure for the four boys and as Daniel began his recovery, his father David said: "Daniel is doing well. It's still very early days because it will take a couple of weeks to work out if the transplant has been successful.

He's very well in himself and he's full of beans and life and quite enjoying being pampered. He's keeping us all on our toes. Joshua's transplant was from his mother, Allison, but Daniel's was from an anonymous donor and he and the donor will have the option of meeting one another in 18 months' time.

In a grateful tribute to the donor, Mr Hartley commented: "It's amazing that there's somebody out there who took the time and effort, went the extra mile, to do something relatively simple but that has such a dramatic impact for us. It will save Daniel's life. I don't think it gets much more dramatic than that."

He recalled that Daniel slept through most of the transplant procedure and explained: "Now we have just got to wait to see the stem cells kick in. There is a risk of rejection and there's still a risk he could get some form of infection, but it's all looking positive at the moment."

He said Daniel was likely to spend Christmas in hospital and added: "The likelihood is that I will be up here (at Great Ormond Street Hospital) with him on Christmas Day and we may not be able to bring the boys up to spend some time with him."

Donors have also been found for Nathan and Luke, but with 7,000 other patients on the waiting list for transplants, a spokesperson for the Anthony Nolan Trust, which can be contacted on 0901 882 2234 or on its website at www.anthonynolan.org.uk