Former Northampton hospital patient's £90k donation aids cancer care

A 90-year-old woman has donated £90,000 to a hospital after it saved her life.

Marianna Carpenter's gift to Northampton General Hospital bought a pinpoint fluorescence imaging laparoscopic and open surgery camera to help treat gynaecological cancers.

The hospital said it had put it two to three years ahead of other local NHS trusts.

Ms Carpenter said she did not leave the money in her will because she "wanted to see what it would do".

"I'm so happy with what I did, I feel wonderful," she said.

Ms Carpenter, who lives in Northampton but is originally from Italy, has lived and worked in the UK since 1958 and said she had "never wasted a penny".

She was treated for cancer by the hospital's obstetrics and gynaecological department about seven years ago and wanted to give something back to show how grateful she was.

"They saved my life," she said.

"I'm near the end of my life and I wanted to give what money I had to the General [hospital] now because I wanted to see what it would do.

"I've worked hard, I've never wasted my money. I've only been to the hairdressers twice in 64 years."

She donated the money via the Northamptonshire Health Charity, which said the device would revolutionise the way surgeons are able to operate.

The state-of-the-art equipment uses a near-infrared laser to excite a fluorescent dye, which is injected into the patient. The light emitted is displayed on a surgical monitor and allows clinicians to target anatomy not able to be seen with the naked eye.

The hospital is one of only two NHS hospitals in the Midlands to use the camera, which allows for more targeted surgery.

Consultant gynaecologist, Mr Farhad Alexander-Sefre, said it "allows patients to avoid major surgery, have a quicker recovery and fewer side-effects".

The hospital's chief executive officer, Heidi Smoult, said the "incredibly generous donation" would "greatly improve patient outcomes".

"The impact of this cannot be over-estimated... Marianna is indeed a very special person and her actions will have a long-lasting impact here."

In 2019, Ms Carpenter donated £4,000 to the hospital which enabled Mr Alexander-Sefre and his team to buy a laparoscopic training simulator, which has been helping to train junior doctors.

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