Transplant joy for OAP after U-turn on funding

Mar 6 2008

A PENSIONER is waiting for a donation to arrive from the other side of the world so he can have a vital bone marrow transplant after a funding U-turn.

Alan Francis needs the transplant to reduce the probability of leukaemia returning after successfully fighting off the cancer six months ago for the second time in 10 years.

He was told earlier this year that funding for the transplant was withdrawn. But a U-turn means the potentially life-saving operation will now go ahead.

Doctors scoured the international bone marrow register after close relatives of the 68-year-old grandfather from Llanelli were tested and found to be incompatible.

A match was eventually found in a 43-year-old man in Australia and plans were drawn up for the bone marrow to be extracted, frozen and flown to Britain for the transplant to go ahead at the beginning of February.

The procedure was cancelled when Health Commission Wales (HCW), which is res-ponsible for commissioning specialist health services, declined to fund it.

Mr Francis, who mounted a campaign against that decision, has now been told the transplant will go ahead.

He said, “I’m delighted. I’m still nervous because everything is happening at once.

“I’ve heard four other people are going to benefit from the decision as well by having a transplant.

“Helen Mary Jones [Llanelli AM] fought my corner and the coverage I had in the press must have done something for it.

“I’m just happy to have the chance because I had it 10 years ago and despite being fit as hell after fighting it off, it came back six months ago.

“The bone marrow transplant will hopefully be a cure.”

He added, “I would be home by now recovering if the transplant had gone ahead when it should have.”

HCW has said it will not fund bone marrow transplants which are generally not recommended or developmental or second and subsequent transplants.

A spokesman said, in relation to its commissioning policy, “HCW has increased the level of investment in bone marrow transplantation significantly over recent years including investment in the service based at University Hospital of Wales.

“HCW commissioning is consistent with the published and evidence-based recommendations of the European bone marrow transplantation group.”