A Luton mum has described a new NHS treatment service in the town as “life-changing” after becoming the first patient to receive it this week.
Priscilla Sackey, 56, was treated on Wednesday morning at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital by NHS Blood and Transplant’s Therapeutic Apheresis Services team. She will now have a red cell exchange every six weeks to manage her sickle cell disease, while her 18-year-old son is also due to begin the same treatment at the hospital.
Priscilla said: “Being able to access red cell exchanges locally is incredible. I have been receiving manual red cell exchanges, which aren’t as precise, in London for the last two and a half years. It’s a two hour journey, each way, every couple of weeks and it takes a lot of time and energy. To now be able to go 10 minutes down the road, less frequently (because I’m now having an automated exchange), makes a massive difference to my life and my care.
“Living with sickle cell disease is tough, it has a huge impact. Red cell exchanges are life-changing for me and for others with sickle cell. It manages the pain, which means I can get on with my life and it means I have fewer hospital admissions – plus it’s reassuring to know that the TAS team is available if I go into crisis.”
The new service means patients in Luton no longer need to travel into London or face long waits for red blood cell exchanges, which are used to replace damaged cells with healthy donor blood. The treatment is vital for managing sickle cell, a painful and potentially life-threatening genetic condition that affects around 17,000 people in the UK, most commonly those of black heritage.
Henry Jarvis, lead nurse at NHS Blood and Transplant’s Therapeutic Apheresis Services in Bedfordshire, said: “It’s a real pleasure to be able to launch this new service in Bedfordshire and to treat patients who have been on a waiting list for a red cell exchange programme or who have been travelling into London to receive the regular treatment that they need, just like Priscilla.”
Paul Tisi, medical director at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said the move would make a “real difference” to patients who can now access vital care closer to home.
