Children going through cancer treatment are benefitting from a new piece of kit which gives their doctors blood results in minutes – cutting down the time the vulnerable kids need to wait around in hospital. 

The FBC (Full Blood Count) Analyser was purchased for the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow with money raised by Molly Cuddihy and Sara Millar, both of whom were treated there themselves. The friends held the ‘Every Thank You Counts’ fundraising ball in 2019 which raised an incredible £250,000 for young cancer patients.

Jamie Redfern, Director of Women and Children’s Services said: “The new FBC analyser is a game-changer for us and of course the children. Before seeing their consultant they need to have a blood test and this needs to be analysed. Before we had this new kit, the sample would be sent away to the labs and would take two to three hours to come back.

“Now they can come in, have a sample taken and the results are ready in minutes. These are really vulnerable young patients, so the less time they spend in public areas with other people the better.

“The analyser speeds everything up. This really is a win win for everyone and our grateful thanks go to Molly and Sara for this incredible gift. It’s making such a difference for our young patients.”

One patient to benefit from the new equipment is Jack Murdoch (13) from Dundonald in Ayrshire. He was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in July 2018.

His mum Lorraine said: “The new analyser saves an immense amount of time. When we come to clinic, Jack needs his bloods done before he gets his medication. So this makes the whole clinic much smoother. He gets his blood taken and almost straight away they are ready and we can go in to see his Consultant which is great. It also means less time hanging around in the waiting area which is another plus.”

Molly Cuddihy added: “It was great to see the money raised being put towards the FBC. Over the course of treatment young people may need their bloods taken on multiple occasions and sometimes multiple times per day. The cumulative amount of hours waiting around for results quickly adds up and I know it can be quite boring, so anything that can cut this time will have a really positive impact on RHC patients.”