May Brown Who Battled For Her Donor Nigerian Sister To Get Visa To The UK For Leukemia Transplant Dies Following Relapse

 

May Brown has died after she relapsed following a successful stem cell transplant to treat Leukaemia. May Brown, 24, and her sister Martha Williams, 26, were the topic of news channels last year when Brown

started a campaign for her sister in Nigeria to be granted Visa to the UK so she can donate stem cells to be transplanted in treating her Leukaemia.

 

Martha was eventually granted Visa after the campaign gathered momentum with more than 61,000 people signing it. The transplant, done in March, was successful however the leukaemia returned, this time more aggressive, and it led to the death of May on Friday. She is survived by her husband and 2-year-old daughter. African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) co-founder Beverley De-Gale said Mrs Brown relapsed in April and it could be because her transplant was delayed by the visa saga.

May Brown was diagnosed with leukaemia in July 2015 and doctors said her only chance of survival was an urgent stem-cell transplant. Her sister Martha was a "10 out of 10" tissue match but Martha, who lives in Nigeria, was denied Visa to the UK because her teacher's salary of £222 per month was too low. May started a campaign for her sister to be allowed in the UK. About 61,000 people signed an online petition in October and Martha was granted Visa.

 

The operation was postponed from December to January after May became ill with a virus and required further chemotherapy. It was eventually carried out at King's College Hospital in London and it was deemed a success in March. May thanked the British public for their support. However, she relapsed soon after. She passed away "surrounded by her loved ones", ACLT said. 

Beverley De-Gale of ACLT said: "The leukaemia came back and it came back very aggressively. The doctors tried again to get May back into remission but sadly the leukaemia was too strong."

She added she felt the delay in Ms Williams getting a visa may have contributed to Mrs Brown's death.

"You never know with any cancer what way it's going to go but any delay is never going to help the situation," she said. "I sadly have to say that could be a possibility but I am not a medical expert."