IT'S the news they've been waiting five months to hear.

A bone marrow match has been found for one of four Hampshire brothers in urgent need of a lifesaving transplant.

Eight-year-old Daniel Hartley is the second of his siblings to find a crucial match - now the family have stepped up the hunt for donors for the other two.

The news came through over the weekend that a 37-year-old woman had been found who was a match for Daniel.

It means he can now have the vital bone marrow transplant he needs to see him live past his teens.

All four Hartley boys, from Winchester Road, Romsey, suffer from one of the world's rarest genetic defects, called XLinked Lymphoproliferative Syndrome (XLP) or Duncan's Disease.

Only 100 cases have been diagnosed since it was discovered five years ago - four of them in the one family.

The overwhelming news that a match has been found follows an intense two-month media campaign, with parents David and Allison urging people to sign up as potential donors.

David said: "This is really great news. There's some wonderful 37-year-old woman out there who's a match, but we haven't a clue about who she is because the rules say there has to be anonymity.

"Whether this lady came forward as a result of the campaign we'll never know, but it does seem to make it all worthwhile.

"At the moment it's a nine out of ten match so they will continue to hunt for a match for Daniel, to see if they can get a ten out of ten match, or nine and a half. But we know that nine out of ten is good to go- it's a safety blanket."

Already eldest son Josh, 12, has found a bone marrow match in his mum and he's due to go to London's Great Ormond Street hospital for a transplant next month.

Daniel could have his transplant six months later - but now the hunt is on to find matches for the two remaining sons, Nathan, 10, and four-year-old Luke.

"This gives us a big spur on to keep it all going and our lives now revolve around finding matches for the other two," said David. "It really brings it all home that we need matches now for the other two - preferable ten out of ten matches please!"

More than 7,000 people in the UK are waiting for a bone marrow transplant - the chances of finding a match are about 1,000 to one.

Already the Hartley boys' tissue has been tested against hundreds of thousands of samples.

Now the family are urging more people to sign up as donors to help find a match for Nathan and Luke.

Can you help? To join the Anthony Nolan Trust bone marrow register. Call 0901 882 2234 or log on to the website at www.anthonynolan.org.uk