EXCLUSIVE by Kathryn Eccles: A BABY girl could save the life of her six-year-old brother.

Stem cells from tiny Hannah Claire Howarth could give hope to young Nathan.

He is suffering from a rare blood disease and her parents hope that Hannah will be a genetic match for her brother.

If she is, then stem cells from her umbilical cord will be used to treat Nathan and hopefully cure him of the life-threatening disease.

Parents Denise Kelly and Mick Howarth, from Great Lever, will have to wait two weeks while tests are carried out to see if Hannah's stem cells are a genetic match.

They are hoping that Hannah, who weighed 7lbs 14ozs, will have the same genetic make-up as brother Nathan.

Nathan was diagnosed with Fanconi's Anaemia when he was 21 months old and it could kill him by the time he reaches early adulthood. He has been having steroid injections for two years to hold back the disease and takes tablets daily.

As soon as Hannah was born last Tuesday, an expert from the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital at Pendlebury was called in to take stem cells.

They are now being tested to make sure she does not have Nathan's condition and if she can provide a match for him. Miss Kelly said: "We've not pinned our hopes on this, but hopefully things will work out.

"We've been careful not to build up our expectations but, if it works out, it will be an added bonus to the precious little girl we've got.

"The worst thing that could happen is that Hannah could have the same condition as Nathan, but I don't think that's the case. They are so different, although look exactly the same.

"Hannah guzzles her food, sleeps and is really good. Nathan didn't like his food and still doesn't, and he never slept. Having Hannah is a breeze!"

Nathan is loving having a sister. He said: "She's really cute. I'm glad she's here."

Miss Kelly said: "When we brought her home, the first thing Nathan said was how cute she was. He said she looked like an angel.

"Then she started crying and he put his hands over his ears and said he was going to pack his bags and live with his nan."

Hannah, who was conceived naturally, is not the last option for the couple. They can still try for a genetically-modified child which would involve picking out embryos from a selection created by IVF treatment, and using stem cells from that embryo.

Miss Kelly said: "If this doesn't work out, we would pursue pre-implantation. We decided to try naturally because we felt time was running out.

"Had we been given the option of going down the genetic road, we would have done. We'd do anything to give Nathan a chance of getting better."

Mr Howarth said: "I try not to think about Nathan's illness. I just treat him like he's never been ill. Hannah's great and she's not our last chance."