Treatment that can ‘cure’ sickle cell denied to severe sufferers

DESPERATELY ill sickle cell sufferers in Britain are being denied a potentially life-saving treatment which is readily available to patients in the US.

A handful of British adult sickle cell patients have been put forward for stem cell transplant treatment by their doctors because their condition is so severe. But they have all been turned down by the NHS, despite the treatment being used regularly on children in this country and successfully trialled with adults in the US.

The consequences for the patients could be fatal, as they constitute a small number who do not respond to the drug normally used to treat the illness, which affects oxygen flow to the body.

One member of the group has already suffered two strokes linked to his condition and fears he could die if he has another. Another member was admitted to hospital 40 times last year.

The patients have been told their cases are not “exceptional” enough to justify the transplant, even though doctors have said they need it urgently.

Dr Jo Howard, consultant haematologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust in London, said the patients they had referred have recurrent hospital admissions, severe pain and are “desperate” to get on with their lives.

An NHS England spokesman confirmed there had been fewer than 10 applications for funding and they had all been turned down. They said while the treatment may offer the chance of a cure, it can also lead to “a number of complexities”, and that the NHS is awaiting further research on the topic.