Boy, 4, donates bone marrow to save sister

BROTHER and sister Harry and Beth Prendergast are as close as any other siblings. But after today they will be even closer when four-year-old Harry donates bone marrow to his little sister.

The 23-month old girl has an acute form of leukaemia and has had more than 30 platelet, or blood cell, transfusions since she was diagnosed last November. After the transplant today, her life will depend on donations of healthy blood cells.

Platelets are small blood cells essential for clotting and are present in the blood of all healthy people. Chemotherapy often damages patients’ bone marrow cells where the platelets are made and make the patients prone to spontaneous bleeding. Cancer patients, especially those with leukaemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow) often depend on platelet transfusions during their chemotherapy or bone marrow transplants in order for them to tolerate and benefit from their treatment.