Gray & Adams Doncaster sponsors local team at World Kickboxing competition

Gray & Adams Northern Ireland wishes to share with you a message on why blood donation is so important and how giving blood can save lives. We have included a story from Rhys Boyd, son of Gray & Adams colleague Alaistair Boyd, who works at our Northern Ireland location, where he shares his experience of living with a rare condition called DBA. At Gray & Adams we believe it is important to support our colleagues and their families, which is why we are sharing Rhys’ story with our readers. From all at Gray & Adams, we wish Rhys and his family all the best and a wonderful Christmas.

Blood donation and why it’s so important to me?

One donation saves three lives! I am one of these lives! I need blood to keep me alive just like everyone else BUT I have to depend on the generosity of donors who give blood. I was born with a rare blood condition called Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA). This means that my bone marrow doesn’t make its own red blood cells.

I am 15 years of age and attend Ballyclare Secondary School in Northern Ireland where I am now studying for my GCSE’s and I have been attending the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children’s Haematology Department every three weeks for a blood transfusions since I was born.

Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA) is a rare blood condition where the bone marrow fails to produce red blood cells. These red blood cells are necessary for life since they carry oxygen around the body. Patients are usually diagnosed before the age of two and require treatment to compensate for their lack of red cell production. DBA causes fatigue, poor growth, lack of appetite and a pale complexion. In about a half of cases patients also suffer associated congenital abnormalities. Some affected children are short for their age and may have delayed puberty. DBA patients also have a slightly elevated risk of certain types of cancer.

How having DBA affects me?

I was born three weeks early as my body was in distress with a dipping heart rate. I weighed just 5 pounds 6 ounces. I had respiratory distress syndrome and had my first blood transfusion the day after I was born as my haemoglobin was low. Since then, I have been having regular blood transfusions on a three weekly basis to sustain my red blood cell count. As I am growing the amount of blood I need can vary, but mostly I require two units/bags of blood each time I have a transfusion. Having DBA has a negative impact on my day-to-day life. I tire easily, I don’t have the same strength as a healthy person, I lack appetite and it affects my ability to concentrate which has made school very challenging.

A typical blood transfusion week for me

Firstly, as this week begins, I am already extremely tired. I attend the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children’s Haematology Department on the Tuesday morning for blood checks. First, I have a thumb prick done which provides the lab with a small amount of blood for testing to see what my haemoglobin level is. If my haemoglobin is in the low 10’s then I will require a blood transfusion but before that can happen more blood needs to be taken, except this time it’s from a vein. This blood is used for cross-matching which is where it goes through a series of tests at the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service to make sure that the donor’s blood is compatible with my blood. If I require a transfusion, I go back to the hospital on the Thursday for my much-needed top up of the red stuff.

How a blood transfusion affects me?

Blood transfusions keep me alive and the positives DEFINITELY outweigh the negatives, but transfusions can also lead to complications. Red blood cell transfusions contain iron which the body normally recycles from old red blood cells when producing new ones but this doesn’t happen in DBA patients. Frequent transfusions cause a build-up of iron in the body. Iron overload can cause damage to the major organs (especially the heart and liver). If this isn’t properly managed it can be fatal, so I must take medication daily in the form of a tablet called (Exjade). Along with the medication I also have to have regular MRI scans on my heart and liver to make sure that no significant damage is being done and also bone marrow biopsies. I also have to have annual eyesight and hearing checks done as the medication I take to manage the excess iron can cause problems to these organs.

What exactly happens on my transfusion day?

The nurse puts a tourniquet around the top of my arm which makes my veins more visible. The nurse then inserts a cannula into a vein via a small needle. The needle is then removed leaving the small narrow tube in my vein which the blood will flow through. The nurse then flushes the tube (line) in my vein with a syringe of saline. If the blood flows back into the syringe it means all is good to go ahead with the transfusion. The nurse then secures the cannula with tape so that it doesn’t come out. Following that she then connects an intravenous bag of Sodium Chloride to my line which is run for a short while. This keeps my vein open whilst waiting for my blood. When the nurse is happy that everything is running right, she puts a bandage around the area of the cannula. When the blood arrives, the nurse does various checks to make sure that she is giving the right blood to the right person. She will ask me my name, date of birth and hospital number. The bag of blood is then connected up to a pump which is programmed to run over two hours (it takes two hours per unit/bag of blood). At the beginning, 15 mins later and at the end of the transfusion the nurse will do a set of observations eg, Temperature, Blood Pressure and Pulse. At the end of the transfusion, the intravenous Sodium Chloride is run down the line again to flush all the remaining blood in the line into my vein. The nurse then prepares to remove the cannula from my vein. In some ways this part is almost as sore as getting the cannula in because the plaster that is used to keep the cannula in is really sticky. Once the cannula is removed, the nurse holds a swab over the wound to make sure the bleeding stops and then puts a plaster on it. That’s now me good to go for another three weeks. TO DATE I’VE HAD APPROXIMATELY 266 BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS AND I AM SO THANKFUL TO ALL WHO DONATE BLOOD!