A family’s search for a bone marrow donation has made it over the “first big hurdle”.

Rufus Palmer, seven, relapsed with leukaemia in November.

On Monday, Rufus’ family were told the immunotherapy had been successful and Rufus was now in remission, in preparation for a potential bone marrow transplant in February.

Rosie Palmer, Rufus’ mum, said: “We’ve had a really good email from Rufus’ consultant based on the result from the recent bone marrow test. It shows he is in remission.

“We are completely over the moon about that. It doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for the treatment but it means he’s in the best position for the transplant.

“Considering back in December there was a really big concern about getting him into remission, that really was the main worry for the consultants and the team – that the disease wasn’t going down.

“The fact that the immunotherapy has done it in a month is incredible, it’s a game-changer. We’ve passed one of the first huge hurdles.”

While the good news is a step in the right direction, Rosie said the family are still cautious, particularly as they still need a confirmed donor for the scheduled transplant in mid February.

“It was really hard for me and Tom, Rufus’ dad, to actually think about getting to the stage of transplant because getting into remission was the first big deal. We didn’t want to think ahead of that because we didn’t want to assume it would happen.

“If we’ve learnt anything in this whole thing, it’s that you can’t think even a day in advance.”

Rufus, who will celebrate his 8th birthday on 31 January, is now on a course of maintenance chemo and the family have returned home to Aberystwyth.

On 2 February, the family will travel to Bristol for a full health check up in advance of the transplant, after consultants said they are pursuing a potential match: “Bristol have mentioned they are pursuing a nine out of 10 match – but there is no rock solid certainty on that.”

So far, 436 people have registered to be a stem cell donor through DKMS, a nonprofit bone marrow donor centre.

Rosie is hoping to have a swabbing event, allowing people members of the community to easily have a cheek swab for tissue typing and to register as a donor with DKMS, at Ridiculously Rich by Alana Spencer on Aberystwyth seafront. While no definite date has been set, the event will likely take place in February.

Alana said: “Something I have always loved about Aberystwyth is the sense of community we have. Whenever someone needs help, people come together to support each other. Helping Rosie and her lovely family is definitely a reason to do so.

“Rufus is a wonderful boy who needs our help, so we are asking people to come along to the cafe for a cup of tea and to have a simple test to see if they are a donor match for the treatment Rufus desperately needs.”

Rosie is encouraging any fundraising efforts for DKMS as registering one potential donor costs £40.

“If anybody is willing to do a fundraiser for the charity, there is a load of information and ideas on what you can do on the DKMS website. One day I would like to do something to repay that if I can. I’ll put it on my to do list!”

To register as a donor and help in the search for Rufus’ donor, go to https://www.dkms.org.uk/get-involved/virtual-drives/rufus.