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22nd. July 2008. - The doctors say they are going to try the same  treatment as they have done four years ago but they have no idea if it will work on not so its basically hit and hope.

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Lorraine Kelly (GMTV) - The Sunday Post

Help save a life

RICHARD COLSON from Bellshill was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia in 2004 when he was 17.

The lethal disease means that his bone marrow produces insufficient blood cells. Richard and his family have set up a fund to help other sufferers, and also to encourage people to register as bone marrow donors.

I think everyone in the country should be registered as it would help save countless lives and if you want to help, contact the Richard Colson Severe Aplastic Anemia Fund at: richard.colson.s.a.a.fund@googlemail.com or visit www.richardcolson.co.uk

Bellshill Speaker Newspaper

Family Appeal In Race To Save Son

Reporting: Ian MacLean

The parents of Bellshill leukaemia sufferer have appealed for people to come forward and see if they can help save his life.
Richard Colson (22) has a rare blood disease known as severe anaemia and his only hope of survival is a successful bone marrow transplant.

Now his parents have teamed up with the Anthony Nolan Trust to see if a suitable donor can be found. They will hold a donor recruitment clinic at Noble Primary School on Tuesday next week and urge people to join the trust’s bone marrow register in hope that they can increase the register and the chances of saving people like their son. Richard was first diagnosed with the disease in 2004 and has been battling it bravely ever since.

Aplastic Anaemia is a disorder that results in the failure of bone marrow to produce sufficient blood cells. This in turn leads to the failure of the patients immune system. For almost four years Richard has to receive two pints of blood every week which has enabled him to produce his own blood cells, but earlier this year he received the terrible news that his treatment was no longer effective and his best chance of survival would be a bone marrow transplant.

With none of Richard immediate family including parents Robert and Jessie and brother Christopher (27) and sister Danielle (24) a suitable donor Richard’s farther approached the trust with embarked on a world wide search to find a match.

Robert said: “We were all devastated when he received the news that Richard’s treatment was no longer working. He had been doing so well but we are now hoping we can find a donor, not just for Richard but for others like him who are battling the same illness. We have also set up a fund the only one of its kind in Scotland, for Richard and other sufferers.”

Angela MacVicar, trust donor recruitment manager added: “There are currently 390,000 people on our bone marrow register, however it’s not enough. At any one time there are approximately 16,000 patients in the same position as Richard who need to find a suitable bone marrow donor. This means there will always need to be an urgent need to recruit donors to increase their chance of getting a transplant.”