Fellow Hoops fans at the Moray Emerald Celtic Supporters Club held a fundraising night in support of the Alves teenager, who suffers from a rare blood disorder. That raised £700, and when they asked Kyle where he would like the money to go, he had no hesitation in nominating Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow, where he and other children receive specialist treatment.

Kyle was born with an extremely rare blood disorder called congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia (CDA), a deficiency in the red blood cells which carry oxygen through the body. It saps his energy and leaves him open to opportunist infections. He was able to live a relatively normal life until the age of 14, when he became quite ill, and has required regular blood transfusions since then.

'The Northern Scot' highlighted Kyle's story last year, when staff in the children's ward of Elgin's Dr Gray's Hospital joined forces with bone marrow register charity the Anthony Nolan Trust to try to locate Moray people who could save his and potentially other people's lives. They held a clinic locally which produced a lot of people for the national bone marrow donor register.

Although not identified from that clinic, a bone marrow donor was subsequently matched to Kyle from the national register, and he was on the verge of receiving his bone marrow transplant when hospital tests flagged up a major concern. His mum, June, said: "When he went down to Yorkhill, they discovered in the two weeks he was there that he had an iron overload. They decided it was dangerous to go ahead with the transplant at that time. "A lot of the iron overload was being stored in his heart, which was a worry."

There was also a concern over his immune system, but tests carried out in a specialist hospital in Vancouver have since come back, declaring that to be OK. Mrs Whyte has still to speak to the team at Yorkhill, but is hopeful that Kyle's health has improved enough for a transplant to go ahead soon, if the donor is still available.

"Kyle will be 17 in a few weeks' time, and he should have had his transplant by now and been healthy," she said. He faces three months in hospital following a transplant and three further months in relative isolation at home before he can resume something approaching a normal life.

At present the Forres Academy pupil, who is going into sixth year after the summer, still has blood transfusions every three weeks and weekly check-ups of his blood, but that regime cannot be sustained long-term.

Caroline Anderson, president of the Moray Emerald Celtic Supporters Club, said: "Kyle is a staunch supporter. He has gone through a lot, and we wanted to do something to help him." The club, which meets at the White Horse public house in Elgin, brought a Celtic band up from Glasgow for the evening, and its members donated £200 to the appeal.

Our Annual General Meeting is on Tuesday 7th July 2009 at 7-30pm in The White Horse, Lounge, High Street, Elgin

26 Aug 07 - Moray Emerald OnLine Forum is now available for everyone to use click here

14 Aug 07 - Moray Emerald Recognised for Charity Donation to The Brother Walfrid Wells click here
Celtic Supporters Association Link

10 Aug 07 - The Moray Emerald would like to welcome Sean Sweeney and Vlad Valisnte to the club

06 Aug 07 - Pictures from the 30th Anniversary Dinner Dance click here

05 Aug 07 - Caroline and Andy Enjoy the hospitality at Celtic Park, to see the pictures click here