Patients appeal for stem cell transplant lab at CUH

Patients with blood cancers like leukemia are urging the HSE to reestablish a stem cell transplant laboratory at Cork University Hospital (CUH) to reduce lengthy stays in Dublin and Galway, where such facilities currently exist. CUH's lab was shuttered in the 2000s due to compliance concerns. Restoring stem cell treatment in Cork would need an estimated €27 million investment.

Dan Sheehan, a dairy farmer from Blarney in Cork, was diagnosed with acute leukemia in July and underwent stem cell therapy, which required a six-week stay at St James's Hospital in Dublin, one of only two centers in Ireland providing such transplants. He is advocating for the creation of an additional laboratory at CUH. Sheehan highlights the strain on the existing unit at St James's Hospital and University Hospital Galway, as well as the extended stays that burden patients from southern Ireland and their families.

Cork would be a more convenient location for many, he says. Mags McCarthy, a musician and teacher from Dripsey in Cork, is leading the campaign after her father had to travel to Dublin for treatment. She emphasizes the need for treatment closer to home to relieve pressure on Dublin and Galway units. Dr. Vitaliy Mykytiv, the clinical director for diagnostics at CUH and head of the stem cell program, explains that establishing a transplant lab would alleviate stress on the approximately 100 Cork and Kerry patients diagnosed with blood cancers annually.

The limited national capacity would also be impacted positively, as treatment here would allow for more patients to receive care. The HSE has yet to include this proposal in its capital plan for 2026-2030, but it is subject to appraisal and approval. Patients and advocates from Cork and Kerry will present their case to Oireachtas members next Wednesday at a meeting in Leinster House.