Otago Boys' High School pupils raised money through head shavings, sausage sizzles, a hypnotist show and mufti days.
School council chairman Kyrin Gourley (16) said the boys chose to give to haematology and oncology because some pupils and teachers had been affected by cancer.
Kyrin's grandfather was in Dunedin Hospital receiving treatment for a form of lymphoma, while many other boys' families had also been touched by the illness.
It was not uncommon for patients to spend a month or more in isolation after chemotherapy or other treatment that affected the immune system's ability to fight infection.
Southern Blood and Cancer clinical leader Dr Blair McLaren, after receiving the cheque from the pupils at the hospital yesterday, asked them how they would like the money spent.
Pupils identified technological fixes to the tedium: flat-screen televisions, games consoles, DVDs, and iPods.
Dr McLaren said the isolation room chosen for the kit-out was not specifically for youth, but younger patients would be favoured, as well as those needing longer stays.
He said the hospital was investigating introducing a wireless internet connection to the hospital, which would help with stays in isolation.
However, issues of security had to be worked through first.
