Meet Leanne Preedy Family who all rely on blood plasma donations to help keep them alive
For 30 years, Leanne Preedy has relied on antibodies contained in blood generously donated by strangers to keep her alive.
Diagnosed at the age of four with an immune system disorder, Leanne needs regular antibody injections every few weeks to prevent her from picking up infections which could make her severely ill or worse.
Leanne, 34, has Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) — those affected either lack or have low levels of immunoglobulin G, the most common type of antibody in our blood, which plays a key role in fighting off infections.
Untreated, the condition means she is prone to infections and even a trivial cold can leave her severely ill — or lead to pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs), repeated bouts of which can cause lifethreatening lung disease.
As a child, Leanne remembers being ‘in and out of hospital more times than my mum, Lorraine, wants to remember, often on oxygen or yet another course of antibiotics’.
There is no cure for CVID, but the condition can be managed by regular infusions of medicine containing immunoglobulin to boost antibody levels — which is made by processing donations of blood plasma from members of the public.
In fact, Leanne, a photographer from Ongar, Essex, is one of around 17,000 people in England who receive lifesaving immunoglobulin medicine every year.