Published: 15 February, 2008
STEM cells donated by a Golspie man have enabled a crucially ill patient to live an almost normal life.
Michael Bonner of Rannoch, Tower Street, travelled to a London clinic in April last year where he underwent a procedure to harvest some of his stem cells.
He had been called by the Anthony Nolan Trust after it was discovered he was a suitable match for a patient, whose identity has not been revealed.Michael, a father of two, had previously registered with the trust following an appeal for donors by local mother Karen MacLeod. At the time she made the appeal Karen’s son, Mark Ballantyne, was suffering from a bone marrow disorder and in need of a transplant.
A number of local people responded and registered with Trust, but none was a suitable donor for Mark. He went on to receive bone marrow from an American donor but died in March last year. However, their names remained on the list and Michael, a building contractor and retained firefighter, was later contacted by the trust.
He initially flew to London where a battery of tests were carried out at the clinic to ensure he was fit enough to become a donor. He then returned home and was given a four-day course of injections to boost his blood cell production.
A second, two-day visit to the capital saw him undergo a relatively new technique called PBSC – peripheral blood stem collection. Less invasive than the traditional method, where the donor is operated on and has to be given a general anaesthetic, the PBSC technique involves inserting a needle into the donor’s vein and then drawing blood into a machine which extracts the stem cells. The blood is returned through the donor’s other arm.
Michael returned home and occasionally wondered how his stem cells had been used, but did not expect to hear any more about the matter.
But last week he unexpectedly received a letter from the Anthony Nolan Trust giving him a six-month progress report on the patient who had received his stem cells.
The trust’s donor welfare officer, Sharon Armbsy, wrote: “Following the successful engraftment of your cells, the transplant centre report that at this stage they consider their patient to be well.”
Ms Armbsy revealed that the patient was at home and his condition had been rated as 80 per cent on the Karnofsky scale – used to assess the level of activity of which the patient is capable. Eighty per cent is regarded as “normal activity with effort”.
But she warned Michael: “A difficult journey still lies ahead for your recipient and, in spite of this good news, significant changes may have taken place before we apply for the final report in April. Let us hope that I will be the bearer of good news again.”
Michael said he had been thrilled to receive an update on the patient’s progress and even more pleased to hear how well he was doing. He is keen to encourage other people to register with the trust and also to raise awareness of the new PBSC procedure.
Anyone interested in becoming a bone marrow donor can contact the Anthony Nolan Trust on 020 72841234 or e-mail newdonor@anthonynolan.org.uk. Visit http://www.anthonynolan.org.uk
Northern Times
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