On the 14th December 2023, I was soooo fortunate to find a 12/12 donor match. Following my transplant - like all patients - I’d hoped my journey would be coming to an end and I could continue to live my life again. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for me.

I became another rarity as my blood group didn’t naturally swap over, which everyone thought just naturally happened post transplant. Fortunately, my bone marrow was now making the blood cells, but antibodies were killing them off any time they tried to go into my bloodstream. Leaving the doctors stunned by what was happening, they managed to find a treatment for me - however this had no success and was gruelling to go through. It looked like another transplant was on the table and I spent the rest of the year preparing myself for that.

Fortunately, a doctor found some treatment that he thought may work. Due to funding and not enough evidence for how it would work for someone with Aplastic Anaemia I was turned down. However, a second treatment was successfully secured and funded for. At first, I was extremely hesitant and did not believe it could work. Nothing else had, so why would this 🤷🏼‍♀️.

On the 14th November I started my first round of Daratumumab. Three months on, I have been transfusion free since January and my bloods are starting to (slowly) stabilise! My doctor has managed to secure Daratumumab until the end of the year in the hope that my bloods keep going up and stabilise 🤞!

I am still yet to find someone who has been through all the knocks post transplant as I have. This year, I want to raise as much money as possible for further research to ensure nobody ever has to go through this! Or, if I they do, there is funding straight away for the treatment they need.

Funding Research

In December 2024, the news came out that a clinical trial that The AAT is funding is showing promising results with a brand new treatment for AA.

This year, They'll be publishing a paper setting out the current priorities for clinical research in aplastic anaemia. Those priorities will require The AAT to raise more money for research than they've have ever raised before.

Research can improve the way AA is treated, not just for future patients “some day” far off – but right now. In recent years, research has told us how people with AA respond to the Covid vaccine, and demonstrated the benefits of eltrombopag alongside standard immunosuppressants, and now they're trialling brand new treatments!

If The AAT don’t fund and enable research into aplastic anaemia – no-one will. 

That’s why I'm asking you to donate for the future of AA research.

Danielle Boudry