This morning we had a rather emotional trip back down memory lane… Steven and I delivered our Accu-
View vein finder trail unit into the Clinical Apheresis Unit based within OPD 1 at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh. Christopher spent four days here in October 2012 whilst trying to harvest his stem cells in preparation for a stem cell transplant after his chemotherapy, during this time he was ambulanced back and forth from the Western General until he managed to get a high enough stem cell count so they could be collected, however, it became painfully clear that Christopher’s own stem cells would not be strong enough to eradicate the Lymphoma from his body, this is when Steven, who had been declared a perfect match at 97%, went through numerous injections to stimulate his stem cells into his blood stream so as they could be harvested then given to Christopher.
Unfortunately we were never able to get his cancer under control in order to undergo this procedure. The Clinical Apheresis unit is harvesting stem cells not only for transplantations but also for future medical advances in research development, and many of their patients are like Christopher and have a very difficult time undergoing IV procedures, hence why we are pleased to be able to take a positive from such a negative and remember Christopher’s ethos in life by helping others through our own experiences.
