Such a debt to the unit’
honour to support the charity and I’m very proud of being the first baby to have had a bone marrow transplant.
“It’s very strange to hear about what happened because it’s before I can really remember.
“It does have a bit of an effect on you growing up, and you can’t help but feel a little bit different to the other kids at school. But gradually you get used to the way you are and I’ve been able to lead a full and normal life.”
When Andrew was a baby he was so ill that he only had weeks to live when a bone marrow transplant from his dad saved his life.
His parents, Michael and Lorraine, were told that there was only a onein-six chance that their son would survive following the then groundbreaking procedure.
Lorraine, 55, said: “It was absolutely devastating hearing that he may not make it to his second birthday. He had been a poorly baby but that’s not something we were prepared for at all.”
It was a long wait to see if Andrew’s transplant was a success and he was in isolation in a sterile ‘bubble’ for several months.
Fortunately, the procedure worked and after 10 months in hospital the family were finally able to go home and get on with their lives.
Michael and Lorraine decided to try for another baby years later. Although genetic experts estimated a one in eight chance of their baby having SCID, there was a 70% chance it could be cured.
Within hours of Andrew’s sister Caitlin - who is now a trainee veterinary nurse - being born in 1994, tests identified that she too had the immune deficiency problem and father Michael was once again used as a bone marrow donor.
Lorraine said; “They both have to go for annual blood tests but they’re not on any medication at all now we’ve been very lucky.” Andrew Scullion, Mum Lorraine and sister Caitlin at the Bubble Foundation event at the Copthorne Hotel in Newcastle