Group tells TDs of need for stem cell lab in Cork

There is a very real need for a stem cell treatment laboratory in Cork University Hospital (CUH), TDs and senators were told at a briefing in Leinster House on Wednesday.

CUH had offered the procedure almost 20 years ago, but the service was paused following an EU directive on laboratory standards, with the understanding that it would resume once the lab was upgraded.

This never happened, meaning CUH now has to refer its patients to Dublin or Galway.

Mags McCarthy, a Cork country musician who became involved in the campaign after her father had to travel to Dublin to receive the transplant, said their presentation was well attended, with all the Cork TDs present.

“One TD told me it was one of the biggest turnouts they’ve ever seen for an AV room presentation, which is phenomenal,” she said.

Cork Fine Gael senator Eileen Lynch hosted Ms McCarthy as well as fellow patient advocate Dermot O’Leary; Professor Ibrahim Yakoub-Agha, president of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation; and Vitaliy Mykytiv, consultant haematologist in CUH.

Ms McCarthy said: “What struck me the most is the prioritisation — we’re way down at the very end of the list.

“After the presentation, I had TDs even from Galway and Limerick shaking my hand and saying this needs to get sorted. They are going to start putting pressure on the HSE to do the right thing for patients, and stop them having to travel up and down the country.

“We’re not going away — this lab needs to be prioritised and needs to be funded.”

Dermot O’Leary said that when he received this treatment 10 years ago: “I had to go to Galway, which was awkward.

“The treatment was excellent and I had a very good recovery, so no complaint there. But it seems ridiculous that CUH lost their accreditation because their lab wasn’t good enough. Here we are, 18 years later, and it still hasn’t been sorted.”

The European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation look at metrics including the number of transplants per population. They also assess the distance between a patient’s home and the nearest transplant centres.

Prof Yakoub-Agha said Ireland is “underserved” for this type of transplant facility compared to other European countries. He said for people living in the south of Ireland it can be three hours or more travel time to receive treatment, making it very difficult for patients who are already struggling with cancer.

He said this treatment is only going to become more important, and people training to be doctors in Cork will have to travel to practice, perhaps outside the country given the limited capacity in Dublin and Galway.

Dr Mykytiv said: “Today’s meeting is not going to guarantee us getting the stem cell transplant lab, but it will definitely guarantee further discussion.

“It has raised the concerns and probably educated a bit, because not everyone was aware of this issue, or the treatment itself and the need for it.”