Latest news with #stemcelltransplant
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
How the latest Omaze Cheshire house draw could help thousands benefit from lifesaving stem cell transplants
Sofia Gardella's favourite pastimes are swimming, riding her bike and spending time with her friends. Yet Sofia, 11, wouldn't be enjoying these simple pleasures today had it not been for a lifesaving stem cell transplant nine years ago. Her parents, Claire and Fabio, were devastated to learn their baby daughter had a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder. A midwife spotted tiny marks on baby Sofia's arms and legs, 'a bit like birthmarks, but purpley', says Claire, 43, an occupational therapist, who lives in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, with Fabio, also 43, who works in sales, and their daughters, Sofia, and Sienna, 15. Blood tests revealed the marks on her skin were caused by an extremely low level of platelets (meaning blood cannot clot properly) – and this was caused by a condition called congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT), which meant her body produced too few bone marrow cells needed to make platelets. CAMT can be life-threatening because patients are at risk of bleeding spontaneously, even from a minor knock. The condition can also progress to affect other types of blood cells, including the white blood cells needed to fight off infections – meaning even 'mild' illnesses can become lethal. 'It was a total shock particularly as Sofia didn't look poorly at all,' says Claire. Sofia needed urgent chemotherapy to wipe out her faulty bone marrow (the spongy tissue inside the bones that plays a crucial role in producing blood cells), followed by a stem cell transplant from a donor to encourage the growth of healthy bone marrow. Without this treatment, Sofia's bone marrow would stop functioning by the time she was five – which could be fatal. 'We were told that there was a 90 per cent chance of treatment being successful – but we were very worried that they wouldn't be able to find a donor,' says Claire. When family members were found not to be a sufficiently good tissue match, doctors scoured national and international registers to find another suitable donor. It was the stem cell charity Anthony Nolan that struck proverbial gold, finding a match in Germany: a woman in her 40s. But the family had to wait another 'agonising' year until doctors deemed Sofia ready for a stem cell transplant at the age of two. 'The next year was full of anxiety,' says Claire. 'Sofia was being closely monitored and we didn't know if she would even survive the transplant.' Claire recalls her excitement when the transplant day arrived in 2016, and she watched the courier arrive at hospital with the donated stem cells for Sofia. 'I saw the courier pull up with the box,' she says. 'When the nurse brought the box into Sofia's room and opened it up, there was what looked like a bag of blood inside – we told Sofia it was a bag of magic cells.' For Sofia the treatment has been transformative. But others aren't so lucky – for while demand for stem cell donations is rocketing, supply is not keeping up. Tragically, some people die waiting – and not just because of a lack of suitable donors. In fact, 2.3 million people are on the UK registry to be stem cell donors. The problem is that, once a match is identified, a donor would be invited to attend a hospital or independent centre with specialist equipment to take the donation – but there aren't enough of these to keep up with demand. Only one in five donors on the UK registry were able to donate on the date requested in 2022-23 because of capacity issues, according to data collected by Anthony Nolan. 'Sometimes, a collection centre may not be able to offer a slot for two or three months as they are already fully booked,' says Dr Lilian Hook, director of cell, apheresis and gene therapies at NHS Blood and Transplant. Such a wait may be catastrophic for the patient who needs the transplant. 'Often, these are very sick people – and if they have to wait a couple of months more they may become too ill to undergo a transplant,' says Dr Hook. 'Unfortunately, patients sometimes deteriorate and may even die while waiting for a stem cell transplant,' adds Dr Chloe Anthias, a haematologist and stem cell transplant consultant at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London. 'All collection centres are at capacity and we badly need more slots. It's almost at crisis point.' The lack of facilities, coupled with a need for young donors with high-quality stem cells, means 70 per cent of stem cell transplants in the UK involve imported cells. 'Many come from Germany, where there is an extensive stem cell register and where donors often have a good tissue match to UK patients,' says Dr Hook. But this is complicated to organise and 'expensive', she says. Demand for stem cell transplants has risen by a third in ten years – from around 3,800 in 2013 to just under 5,000 in 2023 (the last year for which figures are available). This is partly because of improvements meaning the procedure is now suitable for more patients, but also because the use of stem cells has been vastly extended. Traditionally, stem cell transplants were used to treat blood cancers, such as leukaemia and myeloma. But they are now also used for blood disorders, such as sickle cell anaemia (where abnormally shaped red blood cells form that may block blood vessels) and rarer conditions, such as CAMT for which previously there were few treatments, says Dr Anthias. Increasingly, stem cells are being modified, too, for cancer and gene therapies. One such treatment, CAR T-cell therapy, involves harvesting and reprogramming a patient's own blood cells to fight certain blood cancers. 'All of these treatments require cell collection services, however,' says Dr Anthias, who is a donor consultant at Anthony Nolan. Giving stem cells is not as straightforward as giving blood. The donor receives injections of a hormone to stimulate the release of stem cells into the blood. Blood is then drawn from one arm using a special machine, which separates and collects the stem cells – and returns the rest of the blood to the other arm. In a minority of cases, stem cells are taken from bone marrow in a procedure that requires a general anaesthetic. There's no delay in getting them to the patient, says Dr Hook. 'The main problem lies with finding a suitable donor and collecting the cells.' But the situation looks set to improve, thanks to the new Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre, which opens this summer in Nottingham. The centre, which will benefit from funds raised by the ongoing Omaze Cheshire house draw, is the first in the UK dedicated entirely to cell collection for patients needing stem cell transplants and gene therapies. Omaze sells tickets for a draw to win a glamorous house somewhere around the country – previous draws have raised funds for other health charities. The new Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre, run in partnership with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, aims to provide 1,300 new cell collection slots a year, and will also conduct research into new cell therapies. The exact amount received by the centre will depend on how much the draw raises, but Anthony Nolan is guaranteed to receive at least £1 million – enough to keep the centre running for six months. Meanwhile, NHS Blood and Transplant is also expanding its cell collection capacity and is trying to recruit more donors. Men under 30 are particularly sought as donors because men, generally being bigger, produce more stem cells – and the younger the donor, the more effective they are. Donors from mixed and minority ethnic backgrounds are also needed because it can be harder to find a tissue match for them, says Dr Hook. Stem cell transplants are not without risks. Sofia developed graft-versus-host disease, where the donated cells attack a patient's own cells, after her first transplant in 2016. She needed steroids to combat it, which caused fluid to build in her brain, affecting her memory. She needed a second stem cell transplant in 2018 because her platelet levels began to drop again. 'At one stage I wondered if she would ever get better,' says Claire. But now Sofia's platelet levels are normal. She needs extra help at school and takes penicillin to protect her from infections – but the family counts their blessings. 'I am just happy I can finally do normal things,' says Sofia. Claire adds: 'We are so grateful for Sofia's transplant – it's wonderful to know that a new centre may help so many patients and families like ours.' Entries for the Omaze draw in Cheshire close at midnight on July 27. To enter visit The medical research funded by prize draws Omaze prize draws have already generated millions of pounds in funding for key health charities... ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH UK: Funding research into new drugs is how the charity said it plans to spend the £4 million received from the Omaze draw for a four-bedroom house in Perthshire, Scotland, in February. With views over Loch Rannoch, the house has woodland, a tennis court and a private jetty. It's the third time that Alzheimer's Research UK had benefited from a draw. GUIDE DOGS: The draw for a five-bedroom Cotswold stone house with guest cottage and pool on the outskirts of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, raised £4.2 million for Guide Dogs by the time it closed in May. Andrew Lennox, CEO at Guide Dogs, said the money meant it can 'continue to provide services that empower people with sight loss to live the life they choose'. MND Association: The charity said the £4.1 million it received earlier this month from the draw for a beachside home in Sussex would be used to improve access to care, fund research and campaign for those with motor neurone disease – a progressive disease that affects the nerves that control movement. Currently, there is no cure. ANTHONY NOLAN: The charity says the £4 million likely to be generated from the ongoing draw (it closes on July 27) for a four-bedroom house in Cheshire's exclusive Alderley Edge area will help fund its stem cell collection centre to store healthy donated stem cells that could cure people with blood cancer and other disorders.
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Abu Dhabi biobank completes step to help UAE patients get local cell transplants for diseases
The Abu Dhabi Biobank has just completed a crucial process that brings the UAE one step closer to providing stem cell transplants using samples stored right here in the country. While it may sound technical, the goal is clear — to help people in the UAE get lifesaving treatments faster, without relying on overseas donors. Stem cell transplants are one of the most advanced treatments available for conditions like leukemia, lymphoma, and some rare immune disorders. But in order for a transplant to work, doctors need to find a close genetic match between the patient and a donor — something that's especially challenging in countries with limited donor registries. 'The most recent major milestone is the HLA typing of all the stem cell samples that we've banked,' said Paul Downey, General Manager of the Abu Dhabi Biobank, in an interview with Khaleej Times. 'That means that we can now match them between the donor and patients in need of stem cell therapy,' he explained. 'We've literally just finished the HLA typing; we hope in 2025 we will see a local transplantation.' HLA typing, short for human leukocyte antigen typing, is a process used to identify specific genetic markers on white blood cells that help the immune system distinguish between the body's own cells and foreign ones. This is especially important for stem cell and organ transplants, because a close HLA match between donor and patient greatly reduces the risk of the body rejecting the transplanted cells. Without proper matching, even a potentially life-saving transplant can fail. By completing HLA typing of its stored stem cell samples, the Abu Dhabi Biobank has made it possible to begin searching for suitable matches for patients within the country for the first time. New approach to UAE health 'One of the key things that we want to do is to address the health issues that affect the UAE and Abu Dhabi,' Downey noted. 'So, we're targeting the chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular [disease], as well as looking at healthy cohorts — understanding how people are living their lives in Abu Dhabi and what that does to their health.' What people eat, and the exercise they do, along with factors they don't choose like the air they breathe, the water they drink, and to some extent the jobs they do, all play a part, and early detection is vital. 'Biobanks are powered by numbers,' he explained. 'So, the more participants that you can combine in your dataset, the greater the power of the research resource. So, we'd look to network with other local biobanks and international biobanks.' Similar efforts are already underway in countries like the UK and Qatar, where national biobanks have helped identify new disease risk factors, develop targeted treatments, and refine health policy based on genetic and environmental data. This comes at a time when chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and cancer continue to affect many across the country. Non-communicable diseases — many of them potentially treatable or manageable with early interventions, account for nearly 77 per cent of deaths in the UAE in 2018, according to the World Health Organisation. New state-of-the-art facility in Masdar 'This year has really been focused on establishing the Biobank; so, we've developed the scientific protocol, which is really the blueprint of what we're going to do and why, and what the likely outcomes will be in terms of research findings,' Downey said. 'We've been developing a state-of-the-art new Biobanking facility at Masdar City, which will open towards the end of the year, allow us to really spread our wings and press on with the research.' Once the centre opens, 'the team plans to really start to sprint,' he added. The Abu Dhabi Biobank is part of a broader push by the emirate to become a regional leader in medical research, genomics, and personalised healthcare, alongside efforts like the Emirati Genome Programme and the Abu Dhabi Life Sciences Hub.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Donors sought for Newton employee facing leukemia
NEWTON, Kan. (KSNW) — The City of Newton is rallying support for longtime city engineer Mike Headings, who was recently diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. Headings has worked for the city for more than 26 years. His best chance for recovery is a stem cell transplant, and the city is now working with the nonprofit NMDP to find a donor match. Kansas nonprofits awarded grants to tackle hunger A donor drive was held Thursday, and another is planned for Saturday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Newton Rec Center, 415 N. Poplar. Donating is easier than many people think. 'It's very similar to donating plasma or platelets and a noninvasive, non-surgical donation process for the vast majority of donors,' said Erin McDaniel, communications director for the City of Newton. 'About 10% of donors would be asked to do a stem cell bone marrow transplant.' Registration takes only a few minutes and includes a painless cheek swab. Healthy adults between 18 and 40 are eligible. Anyone who cannot attend in person can request a free at-home test kit by texting 'Hope4Mike' to 61474 or visiting Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Double trek made cancer survivor 'feel alive'
A woman in remission with leukaemia said finishing two gruelling challenges in a week made her feel "really alive". Lesley Calder, from Bishop Stortford, Hertfordshire, climbed Ben Nevis and walked the Highlands Coast to Coast to raise funds for blood cancer charity, DKMS. The 59-year-old received a lifesaving stem cell transplant from her sister in 2019 and said she was keen to challenge herself again after completing a similar trek before she became ill. "[Back] then I felt fit and well, it wasn't a struggle in anyway - this was a lot tougher, without a doubt the hardest physical challenge I've ever done," she said. "It nearly killed me, but I did it." Mrs Calder ascended 1345m (4,413ft) to the top of Ben Nevis on 30 May and two days later began the 120km (75-mile) Great Glen Way challenge with six friends, reaching journey's end on 6 June. She said she "picked up where we left off" at the West Highland Way, which she completed 10 years ago, before being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. "I wanted to feel like I was pushing myself, I was extremely emotional and I'm not a hugely emotional person," she said. "It sounds trite to say it, but I was pleased to be alive, it made me feel really alive." DKMS spokesperson Anna Norman said Mrs Calder was "absolutely amazing". "The fact that she was able take on a huge challenge like this shows how stem cell transplants can totally transform people's lives." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Sister's stem cells help woman fight leukaemia DKMS
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Double trek made cancer survivor 'feel alive'
A woman in remission with leukaemia said finishing two gruelling challenges in a week made her feel "really alive". Lesley Calder, from Bishop Stortford, Hertfordshire, climbed Ben Nevis and walked the Highlands Coast to Coast to raise funds for blood cancer charity, DKMS. The 59-year-old received a lifesaving stem cell transplant from her sister in 2019 and said she was keen to challenge herself again after completing a similar trek before she became ill."[Back] then I felt fit and well, it wasn't a struggle in anyway - this was a lot tougher, without a doubt the hardest physical challenge I've ever done," she said. "It nearly killed me, but I did it."Mrs Calder ascended 1345m (4,413ft) to the top of Ben Nevis on 30 May and two days later began the 120km (75-mile) Great Glen Way challenge with six friends, reaching journey's end on 6 said she "picked up where we left off" at the West Highland Way, which she completed 10 years ago, before being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. "I wanted to feel like I was pushing myself, I was extremely emotional and I'm not a hugely emotional person," she said."It sounds trite to say it, but I was pleased to be alive, it made me feel really alive."DKMS spokesperson Anna Norman said Mrs Calder was "absolutely amazing". "The fact that she was able take on a huge challenge like this shows how stem cell transplants can totally transform people's lives." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
