A three-year-old leukaemia sufferer, whose fight against the disease started a national appeal, has been boosted in his fight against the disease.

Ryan Ferguson received a bone marrow transplant at Glasgow's Yorkhill Hospital for Sick Children in January.

It followed a campaign that saw 1074 people join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register during a recruitment day in his home town of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, in October last year.

Yesterday Ryan's father Stuart, 37, spoke of his delight at the transplant's success after tests showed 100% of his son's stem cells were coming from the anonymous donor.

He said he hoped that, "with a wee bit of luck," Ryan – who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia – could now go on to lead a normal life.

"It was the news we'd been wanting to hear," he said. "They won't have to test him again for another year. It's a weight off our shoulders."

The past few days, however, have seen Ryan in and out of hospital, and he had the central [intravenous] line in his chest removed after he got an infection. Mr Ferguson wrote on Facebook: "He went to theatre to have it removed and is back home. What a trooper. My hero."

Later he told The Herald: "You have to keep going. What else can you do? My wife, Paula, has been going up and down to the hospital twice a week just now.

"She was there with Ryan last Monday for an appointment. On the Tuesday he had to have an ultrasound because he's having problems with his tummy. There was another appointment last Thursday and on Friday he was back because he was sick and his tube came out.

"He came back home, was sick again and had to be taken back to hospital. He was sick again on the Saturday. It's unbelievable, but you do what you have to do - what anybody else would do.

"Ryan will still go to hospital twice a week for check-ups for his blood, but he's slowly starting to come off some of his drugs. He really is a wee trooper, an absolute fighter.

"He loves going into the garden and playing with friends. We got him a new tree-house and he loves playing with that. He's doing really well, though he has his good days and his bad days.

"The news about his stem cells is what we have always wanted. We were petrified when Ryan went in for the biopsy but the results showed 100% of his stem cells were from the donor.

"Maybe we can get back to being a normal family."

Mr Ferguson is running the London Marathon on April 22 to raise funds for Anthony Nolan. His JustGiving page stands at £1970 – 97% of his target.

The family is also holding a charity night at the Thistle Hotel, Glasgow, on May 19, with proceeds going to the Schiehallion ward at York-hill, where Ryan was treated.

Robert Lown, medical officer at Anthony Nolan, said: "The chances of a successful bone marrow transplant are fairly good but the early stage after the transplant is the most difficult one, when the body is recovering and is most at risk of infection and other complications."

The charity has launched a "fit to spit" campaign aimed at getting more men to join its donor register. Details at www.anthonynolan.org/fit