Million pound appeal for 20-month-old Hallie who has leukaemia

Hallie is described as "so gentle and kind-natured" by her aunt

An appeal for a million pounds has been launched to pay for leukaemia treatment for a 20-month-old girl.

Hallie, from Coventry, was diagnosed at Birmingham Children's Hospital when she was eight months old.

But when her last stem cell transplant failed to work, her family said they were told their best option might be to pay for treatment in the United States.

"It seems a very big mountain to climb," Hallie's aunt, Hannah Dugdale, said.

Hallie was first diagnosed in the summer of 2022 while on a family holiday in Spain and was flown home for treatment.

She has a rare form of leukaemia known as JMML and has undergone chemotherapy, blood transfusions and two stem cell transplants.

Ms Dugdale said they discovered on Thursday the latest transplant had not worked and a consultant at the Birmingham hospital suggested their only remaining option was CAR T-cell therapy.

Hallie first started showing symptoms while on holiday in Spain, aged eight months.

CAR-T works by removing a type of immune system cell, called a T cell, from the patient's blood.

Those cells are then genetically modified in the lab to make them more effective at targeting cancer cells, multiplied, and infused back into the patient drop by drop.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) described them as "personalised immunotherapy treatments" which are "usually given as a one-off treatment".

A trial is due to start at Great Ormond Street Hospital in the coming months, but Hallie's aunt said they would prefer not to wait that long and were hoping to take her to the US instead.

It will require a third transplant, which the family said the NHS would not fund.

Ms Dugdale said she and her sister had talked about having children for a long time and said Hallie was "the sweetest little girl, she's is so gentle and kind-natured".

Her niece "deserves to be given every chance at a long and happy life", she added.

She said her sister, Kim, was "devastated as any mother would be" but also overwhelmed by the support she received and the appeal had already passed £180,000.

Ms Dugdale said she hoped they would be able to start the treatment before they raised the full amount through the Go Fund Me page.

Birmingham Children's Hospital said: "Sadly, a third transplant isn't a current treatment option for Hallie, who has a rare form of leukaemia."

It also said its teams were continuing to explore options for her, including the possibility of experimental CAR-T therapy, as part of a clinical trial.

NHS England have been contacted for a response.

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