A 13-year-old Aston Villa fan who survived a life-threatening immune disorder met midfielder Jacob Ramsey for a new plasma donation NHS campaign video release. Season ticket holder Luca Bradley met Jacob, one of his heroes, at Birmingham plasma donor centre, and even had a kickaround in the street.
Luca, from Sutton Coldfield, had myasthenia gravis, which can stop people being able to swallow or breathe and recovered partly thanks to medicine made from plasma. NHS Blood and Transplant filmed the meeting for a drive to recruit more than 1,000 new donors to the plasma donor centre in Birmingham’s New Street.
Jacob said: “It’s good to see Luca and his family, especially seeing his smile as I walked in. I did my research before coming in on his story and how plasma saved his life. There are many more stories out there and hopefully we can help them too.
“I thought the process of donating plasma would be hard and long. But I can see everything only takes an hour and it’s for a good cause.”
Luca’s mum Sophie, 44, a teacher, said: “It was an unbelievable experience for all of us to come to the donor centre and meet Jacob. We’re truly thank to all the donors and we hope many more people will donate in the future.”
Football-made Luca became ill aged 10. His body was attacking his own nerve cells, stopping them sending messages to his muscles.
He started to have difficulty breathing and swallow and was at risk of permanent mobility damage. Sophie said: “The doctor said it was very rare in children.
“It mostly affects women over 40 and men over 60. It’s specific to each patient – no two people have exactly the same symptoms.” Luca’s treatment at Birmingham Children’s Hospital included thymus surgery and immunoglobulin, a medicine made from plasma donations, which helped his immune system to stabilise.
Sophie said: “After the immunoglobulin, he would come out and it was literally like he was brand new. It was like giving him kryptonite that destroyed the illness. He would be running around playing football immediately. It was a like a new lease of life each time.”
Luca has been a season ticket holder since he was aged seven and the club made him a mascot for a game after his illness. Sophie said: “Luca adores Aston Villa. He has got every kit going.
“He can recite all the players history and knowledge about the club. He has pictures all over his walls. Luca said that out of something so bad happening, being a mascot and then meeting Jacob was the best thing that happened to him. He just lives and breathes football.”
Last year, 1,066 people from the West Midlands received immunoglobulin, around half of them from Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the surrounding towns. NHS Blood and Transplant needs more than 1,000 more people to become plasma donors over the next year.
