TWO Bolton youngsters who received life-saving bone marrow transplants are winning their battles to get better. Doctors say Tom Molyneux, five, and Charlotte Russell, 13, are continuing to recover at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury. White blood cell levels of both youngsters are still rising - evidence that their transplants have been a success.

And little Tom, of Hibernia Street, Deane, has developed a body rash which specialists say is a sign the schoolboy has accepted the bone marrow transfused into him late last month.

His mum Karen Molyneux told the BEN: "I'm feeling great now because I'm convinced Tom is going to be OK.

"He's running about like the Tom of old playing basketball and talking to anyone he can. He's even that lively he keeps pinching the nurses' bottoms."

Charlotte's progress has also been so good she was allowed to leave her hospital isolation unit to spend a day at home in Sharples Avenue, Sharples.

But her family are still awaiting the results of tests which will confirm whether she has accepted bone marrow transplanted into her from nine-year-old brother Nicholas.

Charlotte's mum Debra told the BEN: "Everything is looking good at the moment and Charlotte's fine, but it will still be a little while before we can say with total certainty that everything has been a success."

Doctors estimate it will take five months for Charlotte, who suffers from rare genetic disorder Fanconi anaemia, and Tom, who is battling against leukaemia, to fully recover from the effects of the transplant and pre-treatment including chemotherapy.

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