§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the number of people each year who might benefit from bone marrow transplants.
§ Mr. MoyleI has been suggested that the following severe diseases might be or might become amenable to treatment by bone marrow transplatation, using compatible related donors:
- Aplastic anaemia (50 new cases per year—adults and children).
- Severe Sickle-cell anaemia (100 new cases per year—children).
- Thalassaemia major (50 new cases per year—children).
- Other severe anaemias (50 new cases per year—children).
- Acute leukaemia (a small proportion of 1,600 new cases per year—adults and children).
- Other rare diseases (50 new cases per year—children).
Bone marrow transplatation using unrelated donors remains wholly experimental and the number of successful transplants which have been fully documented is very few indeed.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people have received bone marrow transplants in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. MoyleThe information requested is not immediately available. I am attempting to obtain it and will write to my hon. Friend.