A two-year-old boy needs monthly blood transfusions to stay alive as he battles a rare condition.

Finley Hudson, from Coxheath is just one of 125 people in the UK to live with Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA).

The rare genetic disorder stops the body from producing its own red blood cells, which means those diagnosed must undergo regular treatment.

With the monthly transfusions being the only thing keeping him alive, Finley's family are determined to raise enough money to fund pioneering research into their son's condition.

Within 24 hours of being born, Finley had already undergone three blood transfusions to save his life.

After spending 12 days in the neonatal ward in Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Ellie Hudson and her husband Julian were told doctors had discovered their son had a congenital heart condition, deafness and potentially DBA.

At just two months old, Finley was diagnosed.

Mrs Hudson, 34, said: "We didn’t know until he was born that his name means warrior - and a true warrior he is.

"He has endured hundreds of blood tests, 30 transfusions, endless scans and tests, weekly hospital appointments, cochlear implant surgery and he has beaten meningitis.

"Finley's heart condition will also require open heart surgery and two weeks in intensive care in September.

"He is our hero."

Finley has an older brother, Louis, and an older sister, Amelia, who are not affected by DBA.

"He smiles every single day, he rarely cries and thoroughly enjoys life. He has been through so much in his short two years, things someone wouldn’t have to endure in a whole life time but he just gets on with it.

"We are eternally grateful to blood donors who keep him alive." added Mrs Hudson.

At the moment there is no cure for DBA and those diagnosed only have three options to manage it; blood transfusions, steroid trials or a bone marrow transplant.

But the Maidstone-based teacher, is hoping to raise funds for new research, which could pave the way to finding a cure.

Mrs Hudson added: "DBA UK is a charity that supports all families affected by the disorder.

"As there are so few people with the condition most people have never heard of it, including most doctors, so the exposure is really small.

"The DBA families all work tirelessly to scrape funds together. The charity funds an annual family weekend conference and medical research into the disorder.

"This year, the charity is attempting to raise £130,000 , which is about what Macmilllian raises in just two days to put it into perspective.

"This means every family needs to raise £5,000. This will mean that they can look at the bone marrow trends of three patients and hopefully, eventually find a cure."
The family have set up an online fundraising page for people to donate.

The mum-of-three said: "The charity is our only hope, without vital future research Finley will have to live his whole life with this condition.

"We just want to do all we can to create awareness and encourage anyone to help with fundraising in any way we can."
If you would like to donate click here.

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