Cancer girl's op 'within weeks'

Anna Culshaw pictured with her father Eddie

The parents of a young girl who needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant have been told the operation could take place within six weeks.

Anna Culshaw, seven, from Carrog in Denbighshire has a rare form of cancer.

But a suitable donor has been found and it is hoped the surgery can take place in Liverpool by the end of June.

Three donor matches were found but it is not known whether they were from among 300 samples taken at a clinic at Anna's school last month.

Eddie Culshaw, Anna's father, said they were waiting to hear when the donor would be able to go into hospital in London for the bone marrow sample to be taken.

The Anthony Nolan Trust the charity which helps in the search for suitable bone marrow donors is liaising with the donor.

'Grateful'

"It's really good news, but there's a still a long way to go and there are a lot of hurdles to clear," Mr Culshaw said.

"It would be nice to think the donor has been found locally, but we have no idea who it is or whether they are from.

"We're just very grateful for the help that they're giving Anna."

She was diagnosed in February with myelodisplasia, a condition which prevents her bone marrow making enough red blood cells, and she needs regular blood transfusions. The only hope of a cure is via a donor.

Mr Culshaw said it would be nice to think the donor had been found locally

A special clinic organised by the Anthony Nolan Trust was held at Ysgol Caer Drewyn in Corwen last month and more than 300 volunteers came forward for testing.

The Culshaws were told that three possible matches had been found during a consultation at Alder Hey Children's Hospital two weeks ago and tests were being carried out to check the suitability of the donor.

Another clinic was held at the Coedpoeth bakery where Anna's mother works.

The hospital also confirmed that Anna was top of the list for a bone marrow transplant.

On Tuesday, Mr Culshaw said Anna would have go into Alder Hey 10 days to a fortnight ahead of the transplant.

"After it's taken place, it will be 12 to 14 days before they notice changes in her blood cells, but it will be a full 12 months before they know if it's all be successful," he said.

"They're hoping to stop her condition getting worse before leukaemia develops."

A spokesperson for the hospital said Anna would have to have intensive chemotherapy before the stem cell transplant could take place.

"Stem cells will be collected from the blood of the donor and given to Anna through a drip, this usually takes about half an hour.

"After this Anna will require intensive care for a number of weeks while we wait for the graft to take."