A TODDLER from Wirral with a rare blood disorder will be at the forefront of a campaign for donors which could save his own life.

If Jack Hayhoe does not receive a bone marrow transplant he is unlikely to live past 10 years of age while common colds are already enough to hospitalise him.

When 11-month-old Jack Hayhoe, from Hoylake, was born his mother noticed a rash covering his body and doctors quickly discovered he had a low platelet count.

They later found the baby had the rare Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome – a condition which affects just a handful of people in the country.

Jack’s mother Mandy, 32, said the illness affects her son’s immune response and he is unable to fight off infections because of his low platelet count.

Platelets are found in the blood of mammals and if there are too few of them it can lead to excessive bleeding. Because of his illness one of the dangers little Jack faces is bleeding into the brain if he bangs his head.

So far he has had seven platelet transfusions at Alder Hey in Liverpool and Mandy last night spoke of her family’s gratitude to the teams at the hospital.

She and husband Ian, a commercial manager for Selex, have lived in Hoylake for five years.

Mandy said: “The condition Jack has is so rare there are only a handful of cases in the UK – but they diagnosed him very quickly.

“He is on the waiting list for a bone marrow transplant and if that is successful it would cure his symptoms, although he would still carry the genes which cause it. If he doesn’t get the transplant we’ve been told he would be unlikely to make 10 years old.

“Even a common cold can hospitalise him, and the run-up to Christmas was very stressful – he was in Alder Hey four times.

“Luckily, when Jack has needed platelets they have been available, but there is a national shortage and more donors are needed.”