Cancer patient gets transplant after donor plea

A 24-year-old man with leukaemia has had a stem cell transplant following an appeal to get more people on the stem cell donor register.

Ben Collins, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, found out on Christmas Day he had T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL).

His mother, Katrina Collins, said he received a transplant on Thursday after a donor was found in Germany, but she stressed how important it was that people still registered to help others.

She said: "The stress of waiting for it all to happen and even the wait for the stem cells to get into this country was awful."

Mrs Collins added: "It makes it even more important the work that everyone has been doing to spread the word about more people registering to be a donor.

"I would hate this all to stop now because Ben has his [transplant]. There are so many more people like Ben out there and it would be a good thing to keep this going."

More than 450 people attended an organised swab day at Old Verulamians Rugby Club in St Albans to test if they were a suitable stem cell match for Mr Collins.

Mrs Collins said she watched, alongside her son's girlfriend and dad, as the transplant was injected into Mr Collins' arm at 19:30 BST on Thursday.

It followed a week of pre-transplant treatments and chemotherapy to prepare his body for the procedure.

She said: "It's a very strange feeling, it only took half an hour for it to go, so no time at all.

"He’s got a very tough road ahead, particularly the next few weeks but they are monitoring him constantly.

"He’ll be in hospital for about four to six weeks, while his body adapts, and it’s going to be a long road now to full recovery but we are on day one, which is amazing."

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