Urgent CAR T-cell treatment
Deputy Gould sought immediate CAR T-cell therapy for Aisling Thornhill, a seriously ill mother. The Taoiseach said the HSE had begun an urgent clinical review and expressed hope for a positive outcome.
A lady called Aisling Thornhill from Farranree in my constituency - a mother of two children, a seven-year-old and a two-year-old, with her partner Graham - is dying and the only thing that will save her is CAR T-cell therapy. She has gone through all the therapies that she and her consultant can give her to this point. If she does not get the CAR T-cell treatment immediately, she will not see Christmas. This is a young mother with two young children. I have often come in here and argued with the Taoiseach and the Government parties. I am not doing that today. I sent the information to the Taoiseach's office, and so have her family and friends. I am pleading today. No mother's life should be at risk because of money. I am asking the Taoiseach to work with the Minister for Health and with me and the family to give Aisling a chance so that she can spend time with her family and children at Christmas and that she will have a future.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and for the manner in which he raised it. Aisling's cousins have been in touch and have emailed me. I have spoken to the CEO of the HSE. It seems again to have been a kind of historic clinical issue about a certain age threshold for the application of CAR T-cell therapy or Kymriah, which is a specific type. In any event, there is an urgent clinical review under way today and I would be hopeful there will be a positive outcome insofar as that could be applied to Aisling's case. Obviously, there is a clinical review under way as we speak, and I will keep the Deputy informed on developments in respect of it.