The Hell and Back Challenge 2012

Well done to the lads who took part in this gruelling challenge on a very wet Sunday!

We are very grateful to the ladies of Breffni ICA for running two fundraisers on our behalf: a fun run in November ad a raffle at Christmas. Frances went down to Sligo to collect a cheque from Thelma Banks, Kathleen O'Loughlin, Maura O'Hara (Vice President, Breffni ICA Guild),  Mary Banks & Theresa Kelly.

Videos from 'The Christmas Concert' in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, at 8pm on Thursday December 1st - World AIDS Day

Here are some videos from the Christmas Concert held in Christchurch on 1st December on behalf of both the BMLT and the GUIDE Clinic:

Professor Shaun McCann explaining the work of the Bone Marrow Trust

Prefessor Fiona Mulcahy explaining the work of the GUIDE Clinic

The GLORIA Choir singing "Ding dong merrily on high"

More of these will be available on our YouTube channel. The videos were taken by a teenage volunteer so the quality is, at times, a bit poor but we believe they give a good idea of what the concert was like for those who attended.

Well done to one and all – We did it!

With all of your help we broke the world record for the longest time on a fair ground attraction. The previous record was for 24 hours and 9 minutes, until we came along – now any new contenders will have to stay going round and round and round and …. for 24 and a half hours! It was great fun, and some of you told me a day in your lives you will never forget.

We are going to put a You Tube link with all the pieces of video over the next few weeks so any recorded pieces mail them to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  As well as having to put our thinking caps on for the big event for next year there is lots happening for the Trust at the moment.  Follow the link in our Bone Gallery to see what Gemma Tipton has to say about art and medicine in the Weekend section of the Irish Times on Saturday the 29.11.2011.  Have a look at the Christmas card selection and our beautiful angels ….Get involved / gift cards.  And don’t forget to keep the 1st of December free for our Christmas Concert at Christ Church Cathedral, more to come on this in the next week.

On a slightly more serious note it has been suggested to me by a newly diagnosed patient that a testimonial section of the website would be of great value to new patients.  So lets do it – many thanks to Maraid who has offered to write the first one for us – any others pre or post transplant out there who might be able to write something?  We would be grateful to hear from other contributors.

Annual Fund Raising Walking Challenge 2011

Last year our Walking Challenge took place from 9^th October to 16^th October 2011, our 17^th walk. The fund raising walk has become one of the highlights in our annual fund raising calendar. Proceeds over the years, have contributed substantially to research and development at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in St. James’s Hospital, they have also enabled us to purchase four new apartments close to the hospital in Kilmainham Square for patients and their families.

Support for the Trust is vital. The Trust is committed to backing the Unit in every way possible both in terms of hospital service and support/assistance for patients.

The walk took place in beautiful Lake Garda, Verona and Venice the best of Veneto region. The large lake is long and slim, stretching from north to south. The southern lakeshore is low, rolling land and fairly built up. In contrast, the dramatic fjord-like northern end is surrounded by towering mountains and cliffs. We have a dedicated group of people taking part this year 46 in total, some of these people have been long term supporters of the Trust and quite a few of them have been on all our previous 16 walks. Some of the participants have direct links with the Bone Marrow Unit and for that reason are most committed but most are just very caring people and want to help others and make sure the best possible treatment is available to patients from all parks of Ireland. Irwin Gill as always is our very competent Walk organiser and guide.

You will see some lovely photographs, courtesy of Phyllis Mullins, on our Facebook page.

Frances Campbell

Walk Co-ordinator.

Festschrift for Professor Shaun McCann

On Friday 30th September a Festschrift was held in honour of our Chairman, Professor Shaun McCann.

Shaun McCann graduated in Medicine from University College Dublin in 1970. Following postgraduate training in Dublin and The University of Minnesota, USA, he was appointed as a Lecturer in Haematology at The University of Dublin, Trinity College in 1978. In 1983 he was appointed as Consultant Haematologist in St James’s Hospital, Dublin and in 1995 was appointed as George Gabriel Stokes Professor of Haematology in The University of Dublin, Trinity College. He was appointed as National Medical Director of The Blood Transfusion Service Board by invitation of The Minister for Health and Children for 18 months in 1995 and subsequently became a Board Member.

He carried out the first successful stem cell transplant for leukaemia in Ireland in 1984 and has since been Director of the National Unit which has performed over 800 stem cell transplants. He was the first president of The Haematology Association of Ireland and is a member of a number of Working Parties of The European Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Group. He has been an active researcher into the diagnosis and treatment of haematological malignancies, aplastic anaemia and all aspects of stem cell transplantation. He is the author of over 140 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, many as senior author, and numerous book chapters.

Shaun has had a longstanding interest in undergraduate teaching and, immediately following his appointment as professor of Haematology, he introduced a superb set of lecture notes which evolved into the internationally recognised text book Case-Based Haematology in 2005. This continues to develop with online formats available. He has been a committed and outstanding mentor to very many doctors and scientists and has supported many of our current heamatologists, both in Ireland and abroad.

Shaun's outstanding career, underpinned by his energy, enthusiasm and hard work has assured the highest possible standard of care over many years to thousands of Irish patients with blood diseases and has also given them access to the latest developments in treatment and care.

The Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust is exceptionally fortunate in having someone of Shaun's stature as our Chairman; his energy, dedication and continuous vision has been and continues to be the driving force behind all the Trust's work.

 

Killarney Mini Marathon - 10th September 2011

we want to say a big congratulations to Kimberly Evans for winning this years Face of Killarney

 

Garden party - 15th July

Thanks so much to Janet Wynne for opening her garden last Friday - it was a glorious day and was well supported. An excellent raffle finished off a lovely day and even d'Arcy the dog was well behaved!