An event to mark the pioneering first bone marrow transplant in Ireland was held at St James's Hospital in Dublin.
Patients who underwent transplant procedures in the early days of the bone marrow transplant service, consultants and researchers came together to pay tribute to the medical teams who took part in the programme.
The first transplant was carried out in 1984 under the supervision of haematologist Professor Sean McCann to treat a patient with leukaemia.
St James's Hospital currently performs bone marrow, stem cell and CAR-T transplants for more than 235 patients with blood-related cancers each year.
So far this year, 70 Irish patients have received bone marrow transplants from volunteers around the world.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and St James's Hospital chief executive Mary Day planted a tree in the hospital grounds to mark the occasion.
Ireland needs more bone marrow donors as its population ages.
“There are many older people who are healthy but who want this life-changing treatment just as much as younger people,” bone marrow transplant programme director Dr Catherine Flynn told RTÉ News.
“We need to increase transplants by around 50% to meet the needs of the Irish population.”
Approximately 200 bone marrow transplants are performed here each year.
“We recently performed a transplant on a 74-year-old patient, but this comes with the added need for medical nursing laboratories and we need to perform many more transplants compared to our European neighbours,” Dr Flynn said.
Irish people have been praised for donating as part of a global health programme.
Professor Paul Brown, professor of haematology at Trinity College Dublin, added: “There are currently over 400 to 500 people in Ireland who have volunteered to donate bone marrow, not for a family member but for a patient somewhere in the world.”
“One patient told me that to perform a successful bone marrow transplant he needed blood donations from over 100 Irish volunteers.
“It's an incredible story. We had another patient who had a transplant recently, and she received bone marrow from a donor who had the cells taken in Australia and then had them shipped on a ferry across the world to get to the patient.”
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Bone marrow transplant patients have thanked the team at St James's Hospital for the care and attention they have received over the years.
“It changed my life,” said Mairsil Houlihan, who received a bone marrow transplant in 1989.
“The service was in its infancy when I had my bone marrow transplant but I always felt lucky to have the best place, with the best team looking after me, and I'm delighted to be here to celebrate all that the team continues to achieve.”
“Life without a transplant? I wouldn't be here right now. I'm as healthy as anyone my age, in fact, healthier than some of my friends.”
“So my quality of life is very good. I've had a good life, I have a lot of good life ahead of me, and I'm still active, working and healthy.”
Since its establishment, the transplant unit has been supported by the charity Leukaemia and Bone Marrow Foundation, which has raised more than €20 million.
This support has provided equipment, helped fund staff and developed accommodation for patients following stem cell transplants.
Acknowledging this milestone in cancer care in Ireland, Professor Mary Day, Chief Executive of St James's Hospital, said: “St James's has a long history of stem cell and bone marrow transplantation and without the clinical expertise we have built and developed we would not be able to reach this monumental day.”
“The groundbreaking research of our expert clinicians, such as Professor McCann, has cemented our position as a global leader in cancer care and enabled us to establish Trinity St James Cancer Institute, Ireland’s first OECI-accredited cancer institute.”
