In the summer of 2003, Caitlin's father, Mark Behan, noticed strange bruises on Caitlin.
We were told it would be difficult to find a match because of Caitlin’s genetic make-up, but Anthony Nolan began a series of clinics, and it was amazing. We had 300 to the first, 500 to the second. We were even turning people away - which was actually quite worrying, because you always think, that one person who we had to turn away could be the one who could save her life. All the while, she was getting more poorly.
Then her doctor went to a conference in France, and realised the feasibility of using cord blood and its potential.You still need to find a match, but cord blood has an advantage because the blood doesn’t have all the characteristics of the mother, and so there’s greater tolerance.
And about the same time, Anthony Nolan’s international search located a potential cord blood donor in Spain.
This was back in March 2004. The transplant was over in a couple of minutes, it really took me back - it’s not at all like a heart transplant. Anthony Nolan brought it over from Spain, the blood was defrosted, put into a syringe and injected into her bloodstream.
She’s amazing now. It’s been three years and she’s in the brownies, she plays football, she goes riding and swimming. She’s the only girl of her age who wants to grow up and be a haematologist. We feel so lucky to have had every moment of these three years.
Sometimes I think she’ll forget all of this, but when she’s older I’ll be able to show her pictures of the queue of volunteer donors who’d come to put themselves on the Anthony Nolan register running out of the door.’
