Giorgios Papatratis is one brave 10-year-old. Today he is giving his little brother the best gift in the world, the gift of life.

Little 21-month-old Nikolas Papastratis, a patient at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) was diagnosed with an agressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) called MLL. After doctors found he wasn’t responding to chemotherepy his parents, Stel and Andrea, were tested as possible bone-marrow donors. However, it was older brother Giorgios that was a perfect match.

“The doctors said, ‘wow’. No one could believe it,” said Andrea.

“If he wasn’t a match we’d have to go to the international bone-marrow bank, but you wouldn’t ever get a perfect match and it can take months and months that we don’t have.”

“This small kid will give a beautiful gift to his brother and I have to insist that it’s a big deal to be under general anaesthetic to give marrow,” said RCH bone-marrow transplant physician Francoise Mechinaud.

The next month is critical, during which the family will pray, hope and will that their youngest child does not develop graft-versus-host disease, when the donated tissue is rejected, or contract the toxic veno-occlusive disease of the liver.

“It’s the ultimate gift you can give anyone, let alone your brother, giving them life,” said Stel.

Click here to read the full Sunday Herald Sun story, and to leave a message of support for the Papastratis family.