A ray of hope has emerged in a Dundee child’s battle with leukaemia as an appeal to fly him to Europe for groundbreaking treatment smashed its fundraising target.
Garvie Winter, 7, was diagnosed with the disease last October but treatment so far has failed.
A search for a rare bone marrow match has not been successful so supporters got to work to raise £95,000 to get Garvie to Italy for Car-T Cell treatment, a new therapy that trains the person’s immune system to fight the disease.
Although still a new and relatively untested treatment, it has had notable success in fighting blood cancers.
The family’s GoFundMe page shows donations sitting just below £95,000. However, this has been boosted by a £10,000 donation from the charity Help for Kids which will go directly to paying for Garvie’s treatment.
Mum Haley, 32, said the family were overwhelmed with the support they have been given.
“When I saw it I couldn’t believe it. It’s just amazing. The fundraisers have all been brilliant and I can’t thank them enough,” she said.
“I don’t even know what to say — it gives me goosebumps.”
Fintry Primary pupil Garvie is set to undergo more chemotherapy this week and is waiting for marrow tests to come back before plans to travel to Italy can begin.
