Formby man, Kevin Dunne gives the gift of life to his brother

Brothers are using their story to urge others to join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register

Kevin Dunne of Formby will be giving the gift of life by donating his bone marrow to his brother Tony. Tony has a rare blood disorder and Kevin has come up as a 100% match.

A Merseyside pensioner will give the gift of life to his younger brother by donating bone barrow after doctors found he was a 100% match.

Tony Dunne, 66, was told his life was in danger after being diagnosed with a rare blood disorder and would need a bone marrow transplant to survive.

His brother Kevin, 67, from Formby, became the hero of the hour after agreeing to be Tony’s donor, potentially saving his life.

Kevin said: “This is a gift of life, yes, but you do it straight away when it’s your brother. It’s a no-brainer.

“They told Tony his best chance of long-term survival was to have the transplant. He agreed but the problem was finding a donor.”

Tony was first tested for cancers leukaemia and lymphoma before doctors discovered he was suffering from aplastic anaemia – an illness that causes the bone marrow to stop producing blood cells.

Kevin, a retired bar and cafe owner, said: “They rang me when Tony was diagnosed and asked if I would be tested to see if I was a match. There was no question from me.

“A nurse at my GP practice took a few bottles of my blood for testing, then the hospital phoned back to say ‘we have good news, you are a match for your brother’. I was very relieved.”

The strength of the match is ranked on a scale of zero to 10. The Dunne brothers were a rare, 10-out-of-10 perfect match.

Kevin continued: “The chance of siblings being a match is only one in four, so the chances of me being a 10-out-of-10 match were even more remarkable.”

The Dunne brothers were a rare, 10-out-of-10 perfect match

Kevin underwent a medical assessment to see if he was healthy enough to donate and was given the go-ahead, meaning the transplant procedure was pencilled in for October 14.

Kevin will be hooked up to a machine that will filter his blood and harvest 240m stem cells. The procedure is painless but he will need medication afterwards to replenish his bloodstream.

Meanwhile Tony will undergo an intense course of chemotherapy to kill his remaining bone marrow before Kevin’s stem cells are pumped into his bloodstream.

During this time Tony will have few or no white blood cells to fight infection so will have to be kept in an ultra-clean environment in hospital.

Kevin said: “It’s a very worrying time for the family because there are so many things that can go wrong with bone marrow donation.

“Hopefully, after the transplant, he will start producing healthy blood again but it may take several weeks before we know.”

The Dunne brothers are using their experience to encourage others to join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow donor register.

Kevin, who is the Friends of Anthony Nolan’s lead volunteer for Liverpool, said: “There’s a huge shortage worldwide of potential donors, particularly among ethnic minority groups, and lots of misconceptions about donation.”

An Anthony Nolan donor recruitment day will be held at the main entrance of the Royal Liverpool Hospital on October 6.

Currently only half of patients in need of a transplant are able to find a suitable donor.

If you would like to join the donar register or find out more about the Anthony Nolan Trust, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Story and photos source: Liverpool Echo