Sickle cell sufferer receives life-transforming treatment

Imagine being in almost unbearable pain, constantly exhausted and fatigued. That’s what it’s like living with sickle cell anaemia, an inherited blood disorder which mostly affects people of African or Caribbean heritage. Last December, we first met Adawale Lawal, who was offered a new form of stem cell transplant with the potential to cure him of the disease. NHS England, however, wouldn’t fund it. But he managed to raise the cash, and Victoria Macdonald has had exclusive access as Adawale became the first adult in the UK to undergo the procedure.