The woman who received Ireland's first bone marrow transplant has said that the transplant not only saved her life but now gives her a better quality of life.
Mairsil Houlihan, who had her transplant surgery at St James's Hospital in 1989, attended an event marking 40 years of her vital national service.
She was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a cancer of the bone marrow, and initially faced an uncertain future.
“Being diagnosed with CML almost 40 years ago marked the beginning of a frightening and anxious period in my life,” she said.
“Following diagnosis at St Vincent's Hospital I was cared for by the support team and excellent haematologists at St James's Hospital which ultimately saved my life.”
She said she knew the service was “still in its early stages” but was confident in the treatment.
“I've always felt fortunate to be in a great place with a great team behind me, and I'm happy to be here to celebrate what the team continues to accomplish,” she said.
She added that she now has a good quality of life thanks to the transplant surgery.
More than 3,750 stem cell and bone marrow transplants have been performed at St. James's Hospital since 1984. The hospital is home to the National Adult Stem Cell Transplant Center. Currently, doctors perform bone marrow transplants on approximately 200 patients each year.
Dr Catherine Flynn, consultant haematologist and clinical associate professor at Trinity St James Cancer Institute, said the anniversary was a “huge achievement” for staff past and present.
Advances in treatment have improved survival rates for people with blood cancer, offering new hope, she said.
“Caring for the growing number of transplant survivors is an honor but also a great challenge,” she said.
“Our service would not be able to operate without the dedicated nursing staff and colleagues across the hospital. We work extremely closely with organisations such as the Irish Blood Transfusion Service and are extremely grateful to our many stem cell donors from all over the world.”
She added: “We are hopeful that through adequate support and resources we will be able to continue to expand our services.”
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly attended the event and said the “innovation, collaboration and hard work over the past 40 years” should be recognised.
He praised all donors who make transplants possible and said that last year 2,385 new volunteers provided blood samples to the Irish Unrelated Bone Marrow Register.
These transplants are used to treat cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, as well as rare conditions such as bone marrow failure.
The first transplant operation at St James's Hospital was carried out under the supervision of Professor Sean McCann, now Emeritus Professor of Haematology at Trinity College Dublin and Head of Transplantation at the hospital.
