West Midlands Trust first to treat sickle cell Disease patients with life-changing drug
Birmingham NHS Trust is the first to use the new treatment
An NHS hospital trust in the West Midlands has been the first in the country to treat sickle cell disease patients with a life-changing drug.
Loury Mooruth from Walsall is one of the first people to receive crizanlizumab at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. It's the first new treatment for sickle cell disease in over two decades.
The 62 year old says she is “over the moon” to have received the “lifechanging” new drug.
The new treatment, which the NHS estimates will help as many as 5,000 patients over the next three years, will reduce chronic pain, trips to A&E and will dramatically improve patients’ quality of life.
It's delivered by a transfusion drip and works by binding to a protein in the blood cells to prevent the restriction of blood and oxygen supply that leads to a sickle cell crisis.
Speaking after her first treatment, Loury said: “Sickle cell has been part of my entire life. People look at you and think you look fine, but they don’t understand the pain and the trauma along with the many trips to A&E.
“When I have a sickle cell crisis, it’s like someone has a knife and they are ripping it through my joints – particularly my hips and legs.
“Whenever I thought about having this new drug it brought tears to my eyes. I am so excited and over the moon because it is literally lifechanging for me and my family. I really want to encourage other eligible people with this disease to come forward and get this drug.”
Patients with sickle cell suffer from monthly episodes, making it difficult for people to continue in their jobs or other everyday activities. Sufferers produce unusually shaped red blood cells that can cause problems because they do not live as long as healthy blood cells and can block blood vessels.
The hereditary condition is much more prevalent among people with an African or African-Caribbean family background.
Dr Bola Owolabi, NHS Director of Health Inequalities, who also works as a GP in the Midlands, said: “It’s fantastic that our first NHS patients have been given this ground-breaking and historic new treatment for sickle cell disease – the first in over two decades.
“This revolutionary treatment will allow patients to have a better quality of life, reduce trips to A&E by almost half and ultimately help to save lives.
“Thanks to the NHS’ deal for this treatment we have been able to provide the latest and best possible treatments for patients at a price that is affordable for taxpayers”.