Jo is running the London Marathon 2027 Donate Fundraise Why I'm running the London Marathon 2027 to support people affected by aplastic anaemia? 2024 was a year that, as a family, we hope we never have to repeat. Our then 9-year-old was diagnosed with acute hepatitis of unknown origin, and subsequently acute liver failure. We were blue-lighted to Kings College Hospital in London to spend the best part of a month having tests. We still don’t know and have been told we will never know why this happened. Amazingly, his liver started to show signs of recovery, meaning we were out of the danger zone, and were discharged home to continue with his recovery. Everything was heading in the right direction until I noticed more bruising. We went in for a blood test a few days earlier than planned, as I had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Six weeks after the beginning of every parent’s worst nightmare, we were given the second diagnosis of Hepatitis associated Aplastia Anaemia. Generally, extensive immunotherapy or a bone marrow transplant is the treatment, with a bone marrow transplant being the only cure. Without treatment, the prognosis isn’t good as your body is unable to make platelets to clot your blood, white blood cells to fight infection, and red blood cells. Six months of constant blood tests, unexpected hospital admissions due to the risk of neutropenia sepsis, Eddie has somehow made a spontaneous recovery from the Aplastic Anemia, with his blood counts all within normal range, although we went through a bone marrow transplant workup. For Eddie, this wasn’t needed. That doesn’t mean he will never need treatment, as Aplastic Anemia is an autoimmune disease; there will always be a risk of relapse. I found The Aplastic Anaemia Trust when I needed them most, a rare disease, no one has ever heard of before, but the charity was there to answer silly questions, calm my nerves, and help me make sense of things, for that I will be forever grateful. When I heard Jo would be running the London Marathon for the Aplastic Anaemia Trust, I cried, but these were happy tears. Two years on, and it’s lovely to hear people still want to help, and I truly hope lots of money is raised for this wonderful charity What is aplastic anaemia? Aplastic anaemia is a rare and life threatening condition caused by the bone marrow not functioning properly. In people with aplastic anaemia, the bone marrow fails to produce enough of all three types of blood cells – red, white and platelets.Aplastic anaemia treatment is very similar to the treatment someone might have for leukaemia - but because it's so rare, families often don't have access to the same information and support.The Aplastic Anaemia Trust is the only charity in the UK dedicated to supporting people affected by aplastic anaemia and funding research into this rare form of bone marrow failure. By donation you'll be.... Providing support The Aplastic Anaemia Trust make sure that no one affected by aplastic anaemia feels alone. They provide informed and caring support, they provide community. They make sure there is always some one on the end of the phone. Having someone to talk to who understands, who you don't have to explain your condition to again and again. Funding some really exciting research Research can improve the way AA is treated, not just for future patients “some day” far off – but right now. In recent years, research has told us how people with AA respond to the Covid vaccine, and demonstrated the benefits of eltrombopag alongside standard immunosuppressants, and now they're trialling brand new treatments! Your donations matter The Aplastic Anaemia Trust recently funded an exciting collaborative study investigating genetic mutations in patients with aplastic anaemia or PNH. The team have made some fascinating discoveries, and will soon be sharing the finding and what they might mean for how we understand this condition. The cost of funding this research was £50,641.63. Every penny of this was raised by people like you donating. If The AAT don’t fund and enable research into aplastic anaemia – no-one will. That’s why I'm asking you to donate for the future of AA research and support. Thank you for your support. Jo Manage Cookie Preferences