A campaigning group travelled to Leinster House on 7 October to argue for restoring stem cell transplant services at Cork University Hospital (CUH), almost two decades after the previous service closed.
Among them were patient advocate Mags McCarthy, CUH consultant haematologist Dr Vitaliy Mykytiv and Prof Ibrahim Yakoub-Agha, president of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), who travelled from France to support the campaign.
“One TD told me he had never witnessed the amount of TDs and senators in a room for a presentation,” Mags said, expressing surprise at the turnout.
“I was really, really blown away by the support everybody gave from cross-party. We’re trying to save people’s lives. We’re trying to give people access to life-saving care, close to their homes.”
CUH previously carried out stem cell transplants, but the service closed almost two decades ago following concerns about the facilities in which the work was being carried out. Despite plans at the time to upgrade the service, it never reopened.
Awareness
“Now that the TDs have awareness, it’s no longer ‘we didn’t know about it',” Mags said. “It’s ‘okay, let's find this money somewhere'."
The Cork campaign also received significant international backing on Wednesday in the presence of Prof Yakoub-Agha, who described the proposal as a “very legitimate” request and said restoring the service was something Ireland “should have done 20 years ago”.
He also spoke about what travelling for stem cell treatment means beyond the patient themselves. A diagnosis affects the whole family, he said, particularly when treatment means travelling considerable distances from home and spending periods in isolation.
Mags knows only too well what that journey can mean for a family. Her father underwent treatment for multiple myeloma and had to travel from Dripsey in Co Cork to St James’s Hospital in Dublin for his care.
She initially stepped away from social media after his diagnosis because the experience was so personal. It was only later that she began speaking publicly about what her family had been through and campaigning for change.
Dr Mykytiv believes Wednesday’s meeting achieved something important before any question of funding is resolved, in that politicians now have a greater understanding of the issue: “The biggest takeaway was raising awareness,” he said.
That includes awareness of the potential for cellular therapies beyond blood cancers, as well as the argument that increasing capacity in Cork could help the transplant system nationally: “It is a national issue,” he said.
Hurdle
However, there is a sizeable hurdle still to clear – the proposed €27m development is not currently included in the HSE’s 2026-2030 capital plan. Getting the project prioritised and funded is now central to the campaign.
Dr Mykytiv also made an interesting point about what happened the last time CUH lost the service. When problems with the former transplant facility were identified, funding and additional staff were proposed to address them.
Those plans, he said, never fully materialised: “Funding by itself is not the only thing,” he said.
This time, he believes national oversight will also be needed to make sure the project is delivered.
The Cork team are keen to make another point clear. This isn’t simply about bringing a service back to Cork.
They believe a new facility at CUH would reduce the burden on patients travelling from the south for treatment, while also increasing Ireland’s overall transplant capacity.
A meeting with HSE executives is expected next week, while politicians who attended Wednesday’s presentation indicated that they intend to raise the issue in the Dáil.
There is still no €27m allocation, but the campaigners left Leinster House with something they did not necessarily have when they arrived, politicians across the parties who now know exactly what they are asking for and why.
SHARING OPTIONS