Brother has bone marrow operation

Luke Hartley (front, right) will finally have his life-saving operation

The last of four brothers diagnosed with a rare fatal illness is to have a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

Luke Hartley and his brothers Daniel, Nathan and Joshua, from Romsey, Hants, suffer from the genetic disorder XLP.

Joshua, 15, Daniel, 11, and Nathan, 13, have all had bone marrow transplants, only Luke, seven, has not.

To prepare for the new marrow from his brother Nathan, Luke has had 10 days of chemotherapy to destroy his own bone marrow at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Nathan's bone marrow will be extracted while he is unconscious through a needle injected in his thigh by doctors at the London hospital on Wednesday.

He will stay in overnight and will feel sore for a few days, doctors said.

Rarest fatal disorders

The siblings were diagnosed with XLP (X-Linked Lymphoproliferative Syndrome), or Duncan's Syndrome, which attacks the immune system, in November 2003.

Their parents, David Hartley, 44, and his wife Allison, 40, were told their sons were unlikely to reach their teenage years without a bone marrow transplant.

Joshua had his operation in 2004 after his mother was found to be a match.

Nathan and Daniel found donors after thousands responded to a massive campaign by the Anthony Nolan Trust.

XLP is one of the world's rarest fatal disorders affecting about 100 families world-wide.