Hospital celebrates 40th anniversary of Ireland's first bone marrow transplant

At the 40th anniversary event of the first bone marrow transplant which took place in St James's Hospital in Dublin in 1984, are (right to left) Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, CEO of St James's Hospital Mary Day, Prof. Catherine Flynn, Consultant Haematologist, St James’s Hospital and Prof. Paul Browne, Consultant Haematologist, St James’s Hospital. Picture: Paul Sharp/SHARPPIX

A woman who received one of the first bone marrow transplants in Ireland has told how it not only saved her but also that she has a good quality of life now. 

Mairsile Hourihane, who had the transplant at St James’ Hospital in 1989 attended an event to mark the 40th anniversary of the vital national service. 

She was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a cancer of the bone marrow, and faced an uncertain future initially. 

“My diagnosis of CML nearly 40 years ago was the beginning of an uncertain and scary time in my life,” she said.

“After my diagnosis in St Vincent's Hospital, I was under the care of excellent haematologists with a support team at St James’s Hospital, who ultimately saved my life.” 

She knew the service was “in its infancy”, she said, but was confident in the treatment.

“I always knew that I was lucky to be in the best place with the best team looking after me, and I am delighted to be here to celebrate all that the team continues to achieve,” she said.

She has a good quality of life now thanks to the transplant, she added.

Over 3,750 stem cell and bone marrow transplants have taken place at St James’s Hospital since 1984. It is home to the National Adult Stem Cell Transplant Centre. Doctors now perform bone marrow transplants in almost 200 patients every year.

Dr Catherine Flynn, Consultant Haematologist and Associate Clinical Professor at the Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute, said the anniversary is “a huge achievement” for past and present staff.

Mairsile Hourihane: 'I always knew that I was lucky to be in the best place with the best team looking after me, and I am delighted to be here to celebrate all that the team continues to achieve.' Picture: Paul Sharp/SHARPPIX

Advances in care have led to improving rates of survival for patients with blood cancer and giving them fresh hope, she said.

“Looking after our increasing number of transplant survivors is a privilege but also presents a growing challenge,” she said.

“Our service would not be able to run without our dedicated nursing staff and colleagues throughout the hospital. We work very closely with bodies such as the Irish Blood Transfusion Service and are very grateful to the many stem cell donors from all over the world.” 

She added: “We are hopeful that we can continue to grow our service through adequate support and resources.” 

Health minister Stephen Donnelly attended the event, and said the “the innovation, collaboration, and hard work of the last 40 years” should be recognised.

He praised all donors who make the transplants possible, saying last year 2,385 new volunteers gave blood samples to join the Irish Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry.

These transplants are used in treatment of cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma as well as rare bone marrow failure conditions among other conditions. 

The first such transplant at St James was carried out under Professor Shaun McCann. He is now emeritus Professor of Haematology at Trinity College Dublin and head of transplantation at the hospital.