Haemophiliac boy's drugs victory
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Your support makes all the difference.A 14-year-old haemophiliac has won his fight to receive treatment that could save his life. Jack Quarmby, from Mossley, Greater Manchester, was told in January that he would have to use a blood clotting agent which ran the risk of infecting him with potentially fatal viruses. He had been using the artificially-made anti-clotting agent Factor VIII, which is safer than Factor VIII derived from human blood because it carries no virus.
But in January West Pennine Health Authority said it could no longer afford to pay for the artificial drugs because it is one-and-a-half times more expensive. This week the health authority decided to restore supplies of the genetically-engineered drug, after a campaign by his family, its lawyers and the Haemophilia Society.
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