Brave Daniel to lead out his favourite football team

1:56pm Tuesday 29th January 2008

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A critically-ill boy will have his dream come true on Saturday when he becomes a mascot for his beloved Chelsea.

Daniel Kitt, nine, was born with a rare genetic disorder - chronic granulomatous disease (CGD).

CGD is a disorder of the white blood cells, which means Daniel's do not function properly.

The only cure for CGD is a bone marrow transplant but it has to be a 100 per cent match before the procedure can even be considered.

Sadly, no match has been found for Daniel.

His father David, 42, said: "The only option left open to help Daniel was a new trial called gene replacement therapy. Although gene replacement therapy is not a total cure it is hoped, with further research, it will eventually become one.

"The procedure is similar to a bone marrow transplant but instead of using someone else's stem cells, they chemically try to correct the patient's own."

So last summer, Daniel endured a five-week period in isolation at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London to have the treatment.

During his stay, community nurses from the Snowdrop Trust wrote to Chelsea Football Club to tell them about Daniel.

To Daniel's amazement, Chelsea asked him to be their mascot for the match against Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

David, of Glenelg Close, Bognor, said: "The news was such a tremendous boost and really lifted his morale in hospital. He has been eagerly awaiting this fixture ever since.

"Daniel has been a Chelsea fan and member like me since he was very young and attends as many games as he can. Daniel loves football and has a broad knowledge of all the players, teams and the game in general."

Daniel, who lives with David, mother Jane, 39, and sister Hannah, 11, has already had one unexpected thrill recently, when Orlando Bloom visited Great Ormond Street.

David said: "It was such a wonderful surprise for Daniel as he loves the Pirate of the Caribbean films. Orlando signed copies of the DVDs Daniel had taken with him into hospital.

"Daniel is an amazing child who has endured so much in his life. He is so brave but remains cheerful and has a terrific sense of humour.

"He has gained the affection of many nurses and doctors over the years, even to the point of nurses arguing over who will be looking after him.

"We are all very proud of Daniel. Through all that he has been through, he never complains and accepts so much of his life either in hospital or taking medicines or having regular blood tests. He deserves his day in the spotlight, leading out the Chelsea team."

Last week his parents were told that even if a bone marrow donor was found, Daniel is not strong enough any more for a transplant as it involves a much stronger dose of chemotherapy.

For more details on CGD, go to www.cgd.org.uk.

To register as a bone marrow donor, go to www.anthonynolan.org.uk.

Leave your messages of support to Daniel and his family below.