Thousands sign petition to approve specialist leukaemia treatment in UK for 7-year-old Hastings boy

Denny Nassy. Picture from Team Denny/Facebook SUS-200604-100035001

An online petition was set up on Change.org by Amy Collins, a friend of Denny Nassy’s family, to try and persuade the NHS to approve the specialist treatment in the UK that Denny needs, known as CAR-T.

Since the petition was launched more than 150,000 had signed it today (Monday, April 6).

Denny was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in January 2016. He was treated with chemotherapy and went into remission but relapsed in 2018. Denny’s little sister Marley, aged three, has also been diagnosed with the same condition, though she is currently in remission.

CAR-T therapy is available in the UK for children with ALL CD19. But Denny has ALL CD22, a rarer form of leukaemia and the CAR-T therapy is not available in the UK for this type, Amy said.

Late last year, Denny’s family launched a fundraising drive to raise money so Denny could get CAR-T treatment in the USA, setting a target of £500,000.

They have raised more than £420,000 so far but the coronavirus pandemic means they now cannot go to the USA.

Denny is currently at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton undergoing a month of intensive chemotherapy.

Denny’s father Dave Nassy said: “We’ve been working non-stop to get Denny to America in a few weeks’ time after he finished his latest course of chemotherapy.

“We’d almost got him there. We’ve raised almost all of the £500,000 we need to get him the treatment in America. Everything was in train.

“The only thing that could have stopped us was a global pandemic. It’s unbelievable. We’ve come so far but the coronavirus has stopped us in our tracks.

“We’ve got to keep our hope up but Denny’s chances are close to non-existent because everything is changing so quickly.

“We can’t get access to all the fundraising tins because shops are shut, and flying restrictions and worries about traveling safely mean it’s unlikely Denny can travel.

“I’m begging the Government to step in and bring trials of the therapy Denny needs - CAR-T therapy for patients with CD22 leukaemia - to the UK urgently, or to help us take Denny to America. I know it’ll take a miracle. But it’s our last chance to save our little boy.”

The petition can be found by clicking here.

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