An event to mark the pioneering first bone marrow transplant in Ireland is taking place at St James’s hospital in Dublin.
Patients who received transplants in the early days of the Bone Marrow Transplant Service, as well as consultants and researchers, are gathering to honour the medical team who took part in the programme.
The first transplant took place in 1984, overseen by consultant haematologist Prof Shaun McCann, to treat a patient with leukaemia.
St James’s Hospital now facilitates bone marrow, stem cell and CAR-T transplants for over 235 patients with blood-related cancers each year.
So far this year, 70 Irish patients have received volunteer donor marrow transplants from people all over the world.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and St James’s Hospital Chief Executive Mary Day will plant a tree on the hospital campus to mark the occasion.
