MASONS_ROISIN_STEM_CELL_09

Roisin Kelleher-O'Callaghan (R) having treatment in the Dominican Republic with her mother Anntoinette Kelleher (L) and brother Cian (C). A woman suffering with two delibitating illnesses is the first in the UK to undergo pioneering stem cell treatment - leaving her able to take deep breaths for the first time. See MASONS story MNCURE. Roisin Kelleher-O'Callaghan, 20, has suffered with Cystic Fibrosis since she was a baby, and earlier this year was diagnosed with heart the condition Pulmonary Hypertension. She saw her health rapidly decline, had a constant line of oxygen to help her breathe, and she was unable to walk more than a few steps unaided. The diagnosis left her with little hope for her future until her mum Antionette, 49, mentioned a pioneering stem cell treatment by a top US doctor.The treatment cost £55,000 and Roisin and her family set about raising the money, and within three months they had raised the funds. Roisin, of Faversham, Kent, has now returned from the Dominican Republic where she had the treatment and says she can already feel the improvements. The treatment, which saw Antionette donate some of her bone marrow, lasted three days. The stem cell treatment heals the damaged lung tissues by harvesting healthy cells from the patient’s bone marrow and that of a genetic relative who does not have cystic fibrosis, but is a carrier. They mix the two and encourage them to become lung cells before putting them back into the patient with an intravenous line.