William and the BMT

William in hospital

William might look quite poorly but he’s recovering well from a bone marrow transplant (BMT).  He was given the transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital in the Autumn of 2007 to treat a life-threatening genetic disorder.

William has Wiskott Aldrich syndrome (WAS) which is a primary immunodeficiency - a problem with his immune system that he was born with.  Without the transplant it was unlikely he would have reached his teens.

Having WAS meant that William bruised and bled without having had a bump or a fall.  He had constant infections and he also had eczema.

WAS only affects boys and just 1/250,000 boys born in the UK will have it.  This can make it quite hard for doctors to diagnose it as they might never have seen the condition before.  There’s no history of WAS in William's family.

Treatment for William involved taking antibiotics every day.  Once a week he would have to have immunoglobulin therapy to support his weak immune system.

This is when the antibodies (the germ busting bits in our bodies) that he couldn’t make on his own were pumped into his system through needles in his leg.  A lot to deal with when you’re not even 2 years old!

But several months after his BMT at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, William’s immune system is growing stronger every day.

The new bone marrow has given him the missing genetic information that is now telling his body how to fight infections.  The family are members of the PiA and they’ve found the Association a great source of support and information.