Blood plasma donations help man walk again

Gary Khan was paralysed by a rare immune system disorder before receiving blood plasma treatment

A man whose paralysis was reversed by a treatment he described as "like a miracle" has urged more people to donate blood plasma.

Gary Khan from Alcester receives monthly infusions of a medicine derived from the substance to combat a rare immune system disorder.

The 56-year-old musician described plasma treatments as "life-changing", for about 17,000 patients in England a year.

"They liken it to flicking a trip switch," he said.

Mr Khan, a keen cyclist, became ill in 2020, with symptoms of pins and needles and joint pain progressing to the point where he could no longer stand up.

He was diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), a rare disorder caused by the immune system attacking the nervous system.

It leads to progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms, and in Mr Khan's case, steroid and plasma exchange treatments failed to help.

"I couldn’t walk downstairs, brush my own teeth, cut my own food," he said. "In 2021 I was at my lowest point, paralysed."

A professor at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham suggested a course of immunoglobulins, and a 5-day course proved transformative.

"There was a lot of deterioration because of the illness, but I could now stand up on my own two legs overnight," Mr Khan said.

Immunoglobulin, a medicine made from plasma, contains healthy antibodies from donors which stabilise the immune system

Plasma is a yellow liquid that makes up part of the blood, responsible for carrying antibodies around the body.

Dedicated donation centres in Birmingham, Reading and Twickenham have specialist machines which separate red blood cells and haemoglobins and retain plasma.

The substance is then used to make immunoglobulins, which strengthen and stabilise the immune system.

NHS Blood and Transplant said medicines made from plasma treated more than 50 immune disorder diseases, but said thousands more donors were needed.

Mr Khan said he had never heard of plasma donations before becoming ill but hailed the "generous and selfless" donors who helped him.

"I have been doing rehab and now have very few problems," he added.

"[Blood plasma] is transforming lives and saving lives in some cases, there’s just not enough of it.

"I applaud the people who don’t have a personal interest who just go and donate anyway.”