AN 11-year-old girl is having a bone marrow transplant to beat a rare genetic condition.

Kia Shaw, of Starkie Street, Darwen, has Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, a condition that stops the immune system working.

There are only about 50 families affected in Britain and it can be fatal.

The St Wilfrid’s High School pupil is currently in an isolation room at Manchester Children’s Hospital undergoing the procedure, which will take another month to complete.

The transplant is aimed at kick-starting her immune system.

For the past two weeks Kia, who is hard of hearing and losing the sight in one eye, has had chemotherapy in preparation.

Dad Dean, 35, said: “They’ve got to give her the chemo to knock her down before they can build the immune system up again.

"She’s stuck in a room on her own that only me and her mum Carol are allowed into.

"Everyone else has to speak to her through glass.

“It’s very boring and frustrating for her, but at least this gives her a chance at building up a proper immune system.”

A bone marrow donor for Kia was found when she was seven but until now, she has not been deemed well enough to undergo the procedure.

The donor is an unrelated man in his 40s from London.

Dean added: “When she comes out of hospital, she’ll have to be in the house for three to six months.

“That’s the crunch time, really, because she could pick up any infection and it would be very serious.

“Hopefully, after that period is over, she’ll be able to get back to St Wilfrid’s and lead a normal life like all her school friends.”